Lyon tops Bolton for title

SEOUL — For Olympique Lyon, the third time proved to be the charm.

Appearing in its third consecutive Peace Cup title game, the French club finally departed with the hardware and the $2 million prize, downing Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers 1-0 before 56,218 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Lyon had lost to Dutch champion PSV Eindhoven in the final game of inaugural Peace Cup in 2003 and two years later fell to English club Tottenham Hotspur in the title game.

“It was important for Lyon to win on its third try,” Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said. “Last time we lost to Tottenham and the players had a good memory of that.”

Kim Kallstrom scored the game-winner with a little more than five minutes left, getting his shot past Bolton goalie Jussi Jaaskelainen, who made eight big saves to keep Bolton alive for most of the match.

“Jussi was at his very best today,” Bolton coach Sammy Lee said. “He was one of the best keepers last season in the Premier League and from what we have seen in Korea he can only get better. He made some crucial saves throughout the tournament.”

The six-time consecutive French Ligue 1 champion deserved the victory after producing most of the game’s chances. Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka saw little action and was limited to one decent shot on goal.

Kallstrom’s goal came after Lyon’s Hatem Ben Arfa made a dazzling 40-yard run to Bolton’s byline. Arfa then teed up a pass for Kallstrom, who drove the ball under Jaaskelainen’s body with a low left-footed strike in the 85th minute.

Both coaches were new to their teams. Lee was only coaching his sixth game with Bolton, while Lyon coach Alain Perrin joined his club on May 30.

“This event served three purposes for us,” Perrin said. “First we have many new players and we became united. Secondly, we used some different formations on the field. … Finally we have developed our fitness for the new season.”

Lyon forward Karim Benzema was named the MVP of the tournament.

This might be the last Peace Cup in Korea for a while. Organizers want to promote the brand and might hold the event in Europe in 2009. Officials from Spanish Liga champion Real Madrid were in Seoul discussing the possibility of co-hosting the tournament.

The Peace Cup is a non-profit event. At the close of yesterday’s game, tournament founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who owns The Washington Times, donated $1 million toward youth soccer programs in the developing world.

“The goal of the tournament is to promote the idea that soccer transcends ideology and religion and also to help develop Korean soccer by exposing top teams to Koreans,” Peace Cup general secretary David Yoo said.