Marseille

Club Overview

L’Olympique de Marseille (a.k.a l’OM or Marseille) is a French football team, which was created in 1899. Marseille is the most successful club in French football history : they have won 8 Ligue 1 titles and 10 French Cups. Moreover, it is the only French team to have won the UEFA Champions League (1993) so far. However, they haven’t won any major titles in over a decade, after several average seasons and financial irregularities.

Club History

Founded in 1899, l’Olympique de Marseille, an omnisport club, was composed by a rugby union and a football association. In 1904, l’OM won the first edition of Championnat du Littoral, opposing teams from Marseille and its suburbs. The same year, they also took part in the 11th French Championship. L’OM became an important team during the 20s. They won the French Cup in 1924, 1926 and 1927, and their first French championship in 1929. In 1932, they were one of the first teams to enter professionalism. The Olympians will eventually finish 2nd at 5 points of Lille, first champion of the professional era. They won the French Cup twice in the 30s, in 1935 and 1938. In 1937, thanks to goal average, they won their first professional French championship in their new stadium, le Velodrome.
Marseille’s first title after WWII was in 1948 when they won the French Championship. Runner-up of the Cup of France in 1954, they were relegated in 1959, and the team played in 2nd division until 1965. Under the new presidency of Marcel Leclerc, l’OM returned to Ligue 1 in the 1965-1966 season. They won the French Cup in 1969 and their 3rd league title in 1971. Their first double came in 1972, with a league and a French Cup titles. However, on June 19, 1972, Marcel Leclerc left the club, after the French Federation refused a transfer of a third foreign player (at that time, Marseille already had 2 foreign players, which was the maximum number allowed in one team..). Then followed a decade of crisis, wining only the French Cup in 1976 and being relegated in 1980. The pure and simple disappearance of the club was even evoked in April 1981. The club returned to Ligue 1 in 1984, and struggled until 1986 and the arrival of Bernard Tapie and Jean Pierre Papin. When Tapie became president of Marseille in 1986, his first move was to build one of the greatest French team ever. In the first few years, he signed players such as Jean Pierre Papin, Didier Deschamp, Rudi Voller, Eric Cantona…players who led Marseille to win 4 league titles in a row between 1989 and 1992. In 1993, Marseille became the first and only French club to win the Champions League so far, thanks to a beautiful header goal scored by Basil Boli. However, and once again, it was followed by a decade of decline. In 1994, les Marseillais were relegated in Ligue 2, due to a match fixing scandal involving Tapie, and lost their 92-93 league title and the right to play in the 93-94 Champions League!
In 1996, Marseille was back in the top flight and Robert Louis Dreyfus bought the club. As Tapie did, he built a team of stars, signing Robert Pires, Christophe Dugarry and Laurent Blanc. Marseille finished 2nd in Ligue 1 and reached the UEFA Cup final, which they lost against Parma. Since then, Marseille has been trying to renew with its glorious past. In 2000, coaches and managers were following one another, while the team is struggling in Ligue 1. Finally, in 2003, thanks to new coach Alain Perrin, Marseille reached the 3rd place of Ligue 1, which also meant a place in European competition. Marseille successfully beat Liverpool, Inter Milan and Newcastle to reach the final of the 2004 UEFA Cup. Unfortunately, they lost against Spanish champions Valencia. Even if they won the 2005 Intertoto Cup, they have yet to won another major title.
They are currently 5th in the 2007-2008 French league and they are qualified for the 2008 UEFA Cup.

Club Rivalries

Paris and Marseille are the 2 biggest cities in France, and they really hate each other! Before Lyon's domination in Ligue 1, they were always fighting for the title. They also have the 2 biggest French stadiums, Le Parc des Princes for Paris with 49 700 seats, and Le Velodrome for Marseille, which seats 60,013. When they play each other, there are about 3000 cops in and outside the stadium, to avoid any problems between supporters.

Paris St Germain (P.S.G)
Founded in 1970, P.S.G was one of the best French team in the 80s and 90s. They won Le Championnat twice, in 1986 and 1994, and the French Cup 7 times (1982, 1983, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2006).

Stars of the Current Squad

Djibril Cisse is a French striker. He started his professional career with French team Auxerre when he was 15! In 2004, he was transferred to Liverpool, after being the top scorer in Ligue 1 during 3 seasons. 6 months after his moved to England, he broke his left leg and was not able to play for the rest of the season. In 2006, after he was called in the French National Team for the 06 World Cup, he broke his right leg in a friendly against China. He just announced his move to Marseille the same day on a loan!! He made his debut for Marseille on December 6, 2006. Still recovering from his fracture, he managed to score a total of 14 goals in 23 appearances, and helped Marseille finishing at the 2nd place in the French championship. Cisse’s transfer was finalized on July 7, 2007: he signed a new contract with Marseille, for a € 8 million fee. Mamadou Niang is a Senegalese striker. He joined French club Troyes in 1999, but didn’t play much. He then joined Metz on a loan in 2003, before moving to Strasbourg the same year. There, he had a great partnership with Adebayor and really showed his potential. In 2005, he was transferred to Marseille for a €7 million fee. Currently the top scorer of l’OM, he is also well-known for his assists.

Club Legends

Jean Pierre Papin is a former French player. He signed with Marseille in 1986, his first powerful club. In 6 seasons, he won 4 times the French championship in a row, one French Cup, and he led his team to the 1991 Champions League final, which Marseille lost against Red Star Belgrade. Papin was Division 1's top scorer 5 consecutive times, scoring 157 goals in 254 matches for Marseille. Moreover, he was named 1991 Ballon d’Or! He then joined AC Milan, being the first high-profile French player to join the Serie A since Michel Platini. Didier Drogba is a player from Ivory Coast. He started his professional career in France when he was 18. In 2003, while Marseille were struggling to stay in the top 10 of Ligue 1, manager Alain Perrin spotted Drogba and signed him. In his only season with l'OM, Drogba scored 19 goals in Ligue 1, leading his team to finish at the 2nd place. He also scored 5 goals in the Champions League. Moreover, by scoring 6 goals in the UEFA Cup, he reached the final but Marseille lost against Valencia. After such a great season, he was named French Player of the Year, and he was transferred to Chelsea in July 2004. Basile Boli is a former French defender. He started his career in 1982 with French club Auxerre before moving to Marseille in 1990. A very powerful defender, he won the French championship in 1991 and 1992. Boli became a legend when he scored the wining goal of the 1993 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan. Thanks to him, Marseille won the Champions League, the only French club to do it so far! He was forced to leave the club in 1994, following revelations of a match fixing scandal and the relegation of the team.

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Didier Drogba – French Player of the Year – 2004
Papin – Ballon d’Or (France Football) - 1991

Team Honours

French Division 1 (8) : 1937, 1948, 1971, 1972, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
French Cup (10) : 1924, 1926, 1927, 1935, 1938, 1943, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1989
UEFA Champions League winner : 1993 Runner-Up: 1991
UEFA Cup : Runner-Up : 1999, 2004
UEFA Intertoto Cup : 2005, 2006

Club Management

Chairman : Pape Diouf
Manager : Eric Gerets

Uniforms

Stadium

From 1899 to 1937, l'OM played at Stade de l'Huveaune. It was renovated at the beginning of the twenties, thanks to supporter's financial help and had a capacity of 15000 seats. Marseille has been playing at Stade Velodrome since 1937. The club pays a rent to the city of Marseille to use the stadium, which seats 60,013. Renovated for the 1998 World Cup, the stadium was transformed into an immense ground composed of two top ends.

Sponsors

Neuf Telecom, Adidas, Orange, Caisse d'Epargne

Important Links

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympique_de_Marseille http://www.om.net http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basile_Boli