Marseille's home ground is the 67,394-capacityStade Vélodrome in the southern part of the city, where they have played since 1937.[8] The stadium underwent renovations between 2011 and 2014, increasing its capacity to 67,000 in preparation for France's hosting ofUEFA Euro 2016. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest attendance in French football. Marseille's average home gate for the2018–19 season was 50,361, the highest inLigue 1.[9] The club have a long-standing rivalry withParis Saint-Germain, against whom they contestLe Classique.
In 1997, Marseille was purchased by Franco-Swiss businessmanRobert Louis-Dreyfus. Following his death in 2009, his widowMargarita became the club's majority shareholder in 2010. American businessmanFrank McCourt bought 95% of the club's stake in 2016, and appointed businessmanJacques-Henri Eyraud as the club president, later replaced byPablo Longoria in 2021.[10]
Marseille was listed in theDeloitte Football Money League at the end of the 2023–2024 season, making it the football club with the 19th highest revenue in the world, approximated at€287 million.[11]In 2023, Marseille was 28th in the global ranking by British consultancy organisation Brand Finance in terms of brand power, where it was rated with acredit rating AA ("very strong") with ascore of 71.3 out of 100,[12] as well as 28th inbrand value (€173 million)[13] andenterprise value (€458 million as of 2023).[14]
Olympique de Marseille was founded as an omnisport club in 1892 by René Dufaure de Montmirail, a French sports official. Known as Sporting Club, US Phocéenne and Football Club de Marseille in the first seven years after its foundation, the club adopted the nameOlympique de Marseille in 1899 in honour of the anniversary of Marseille's founding byGreeks fromPhocaea some 25 centuries earlier, with the name Olympique, coming from ancientOlympic Games.[15]
At first,rugby union was the most important team sport of the club, the mottoDroit au but coming from rugby. Affiliated with theUnion des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) since 1898, it was only in 1902, thanks to English andGerman people (according toAndré Gascard), that football began to be played by Olympique de Marseille. Richer and better organised than other football teams of Marseille (Sporting, Stade, Phocéenne), Olympique de Marseille, then playing at theStade de l'Huveaune, took the leadership in the city. In 1904, Olympique de Marseille won the firstChampionnat du Littoral, involving opposing teams from Marseille and its suburbs, and took part in the final rounds of the 11thFrench championship. At that time, the word"football" applied to rugby, and people used the word"Association" (which would be soccer in North America) for football.
The team of 1911.
During the 1920s, Olympique de Marseille became an important team in France, winning theCoupe de France in 1924, 1926 and 1927. The team won theFrench championship in 1929, defeatingClub français. The Coupe de France in 1924 was the club's first major title, won againstFC Sète, a side that dominatedFrench football at the time. In the '20s, numerousFrench internationals, such asJules Dewaquez, Jean Boyer orJoseph Alcazar, played for Marseille.[16] In 1930, Marseille lost against Sète, which would be the winner, in the semi-final round. In 1931, the team became champion of the South-East, with victories against rivals such as Sète. In the Coupe de France, l'OM lost in five matches to Club français, winning the second match that was cancelled due to the disqualification of Marseille striker Vernicke. Even though the 1931–32 season was less successful, Marseille easily entered the professional ranks, becoming a member of the union of professional clubs in 1932. On 13 January 1932 at 9:15 pm, at the Brasserie des Sports, Mr. Dard, Mr. Bison, Dr. Rollenstein, Mr. Etchepare, Mr. Leblanc, Mr. Mille, Mr. Anfosso, Mr. Sabatier, Mr. Seze, Mr. Bazat, Mr. Molteroj and Mr. Pollack elected the following committee:Honorary presidents: Paul Le Cesne et Fernand BouissonPresident: M. DardVice-Presidents: Mr. Leblanc, Mr. Bison, Mr. Etchepare, Dr. Rollenstein et Mr. Anfossogeneral secretary: Mr. Possel-DaydierTreasurer: Mr Bison (assisted by Mr Ribel).
For the first championship,Division 1 was divided into two pools. Marseille finished second in the first, behindLille. For its first match of the championship, Marseille defeated the future champion, Lille. In 1937, Marseille won its first professionalFrench championship thanks to goal difference(+30 for Marseille, +17 forSochaux). The arrival of Vasconcellos made the defence stronger, whereas former goalkeeperLaurent Di Lorto shone withSochaux andFrance. In the meantime, Marseille won theCoupe de France in 1935 and 1938 but failed a double success in 1934, due toFC Sète. In 1938,Larbi Benbarek signed with Marseille and became"the black pearl" for the team.World War II would cut his career short. The 1942–43 season was full of records: 100 goals in 30 matches, including 20 in one match (20–2 againstAvignon), in which Aznar scored nine goals, including the first eight (Marseille was leading 8–0), playing only 70 minutes. Aznar scored 45 goals in 30 matches, plus 11 in cup games, for a record of 56 goals in 38 matches. With theminots (young players) of the moment (Scotti, Robin, Dard, Pironti), Marseille won the cup in two matches againstBordeaux (4–0). In 1948, thanks to a draw againstSochaux, Marseille became the champions of France. The two last victories at theStade Vélodrome against Roubaix (6–0) andMetz (6–3) were important, as Aznar and Robin's returned in spring.
In 1952, Marseille were about to be relegated, butGunnar Andersson saved his team, finishing as top scorer with 31 goals. The team won (5–3) on aggregate againstValenciennes. The same year, Marseille lost at theStade Vélodrome againstSaint-Étienne 10–3, but Liberati was injured. In 1953, Gunnar Andersson would take the record of goals scored in one season with 35. Andersson also became the all-time top scorer of Olympique de Marseille during his time there with 194 goals. A record he still holds (2023). Marseille was runner-up in theCoupe de France (Nice won 2–1) in 1954 and won theCoupe Charles Drago in 1957. Marseille were struggling at the time and were relegated for the first time in 1959. From 1959 to 1965, the team played in the second division, except during the 1962–63 season, finishing 20th out of 20 in the first division. In 1965, Marcel Leclerc became president.
The first period of Olympique de Marseille's domination of the French League started in the early 1970s under Marcel Leclerc's presidency (1965–1972). His ambition allowed Marseille to return to the First division in 1965–66. They went on to win theCoupe de France in 1969 as well as the First division in 1971 with a record of 44 goals byJosip Skoblar, helped byRoger Magnusson. The arrival ofGeorges Carnus andBernard Bosquier fromSaint-Étienne helped them to win the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 1972. Marseille played in theEuropean Cup in 1971–72 and 1972–73, but were knocked-out byAjax ofJohan Cruyff andJuventus, respectively. However, success was not to last. Marcel Leclerc was forced to leave the club on 19 July 1972. The President was a stubborn man, and he threatened the league to withdraw his professional team from Ligue 1 because the federation refused to accept three foreign players per team (Leclerc wanted to acquire the Hungarian starZoltán Varga but he had already the maximum number of two foreigners in his team). Marseille decided, instead of following Leclerc against the league, to fire him.[17] Then followed an era of crisis, with Marseille only winning a Coupe de France in 1976 and being relegated to the second division, where they played with a bunch of young local players: theMinots who allowed the team to return to First division in 1984.Éric Di Meco, futureFrench international, was one of them.
1986–1996: Tapie era, Champions League win, bribery scandal, and decline
The closest Marseille got to another trophy was when they reached theUEFA Cup Final in 2004, impressively beatingDnipro,Internazionale,Liverpool andNewcastle United along the way. But they were beaten in the final by newly crowned Spanish championsValencia and once again fans were forced to continue waiting for the next trophy to come along. In 2005, Marseille succeeded in winning theIntertoto Cup, beating the likes ofLazio andDeportivo de La Coruña in doing so, and earning another shot at theUEFA Cup.
In January 2007, there was negotiation between Louis-Dreyfus andJack Kachkar, a Canadian doctor and businessman (CEO of pharmaceutical company Inyx), about selling the club. AsJack Kachkar took too much time to buy the team, Louis-Dreyfus decided on 22 March 2007 not to sell to the Canadian businessman.[24] Another close call to glory was in theCoupe de Francefinal againstSochaux in May 2007. However, they lost on penalties after a 2–2 draw after extra time, to the disappointment of everyone linked with the club, but they soon wiped all that disappointment away by qualifying for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage after securing second place with one game to spare.
The club struggled in the 2011–12 season, going to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table after six matches. Nevertheless, Marseille rebounded, winning 3–0 againstBorussia Dortmund in theChampions League, as well as a 3–0 success over rivals PSG in November of that year. Marseille ended 2011 with a good sequence, also qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second season running.
In February 2012, Marseille embarked on 13 games without victory,[28] but rallied to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time sincewinning the competition in 1993. Despite an indifferent club form, OM lost to eventual finalistsBayern Munich, and slumped to an overall tenth-place finish inLigue 1. However, the club retained theCoupe de la Ligue for the third year running, beatingLyon 1–0 in theFinal.
In the summer of 2012, Deschamps resigned, and later took on theFrance job.Elie Baup took over, leading the club to a surprising second-place finish in the2012–13 season despite selling multiple key players, includingLoïc Rémy,César Azpilicueta andStéphane Mbia. Marseille returned to the Champions League, spending close to €40 million on the likes ofDimitri Payet,Florian Thauvin andGiannelli Imbula. The club were top of the table at the end of August 2013, but OM proceeded to lose all six games inEurope, suffering the ignominy of becoming the first French team, and the biggest European team to date, to have picked up zero points in a Champions League group stage.
Baup was sacked on 7 December 2013, following the 1–0 defeat toNantes at Stade Velodrome. He was replaced on an interim basis byJosé Anigo. In Anigo's brief tenure, OM went out of the two cups, and struggled, leading to continued protests and jeers by fans. The club finished sixth in the2014 season, missing out on an important European competition place for the first time in ten years. Anigo left the club soon after, taking on an ambassadorial/scouting role in North Africa, his first post outside of the city for more than four decades.
Marseille announced on 2 May 2014 an agreement withMarcelo Bielsa, who took the managerial hotseat. Bielsa was the club's first Argentine coach and the first coach to lead the team into the renovated Velodrome, which opened in August with a fixture against Montpellier. In Bielsa's first season in charge, the club led the league table for seven months but finished fourth and thus qualified for theUEFA Europa League. June 2015 saw three key players leave the club—André-Pierre Gignac andAndré Ayew left the club forTigres andSwansea City, respectively, after their contracts expired, whileDimitri Payet left to joinWest Ham United for a €15 million transfer fee.
After a solid pre-season, which included a 2–0 win overJuventus in theRobert Louis-Dreyfus Trophy and the signature of nine players, Bielsa resigned from his post, just minutes after the first Ligue 1 game of the2015–16 season againstCaen. Marseille lost the game 1–0, and Bielsa shocked the footballing world with his unexpected decision, citing a lack of trust with the club's management, who he said had reneged on a previously agreed contract extension. Bielsa's departure reportedly left his players in a state of shock, many of whom learnt the news via social media in the dressing room.
On 19 August 2015,Míchel was announced as Marseille's new coach.[29] He endured a frustrating season, with OM failing to win a home game inLigue 1 for more than six months. Following a number of poor performances, Míchel was sacked in April by club owner Margarita Louis Dreyfus, citing poor conduct as the team's coach. The sacking came on the eve of the club's Coupe de France semi-final fixture. As in 2015, Passi was installed as the caretaker coach. Under his direction, Marseille reached theCoupe de France final for the first time in nine years, losing out4–2 to rivals Paris Saint-Germain. OM would finish the league season in 13th, the club's worst league finish in 15 years.
In the summer of 2016, Marseille once more sold off a number of key players to meet financial obligations and to clear its wage bill ahead of an impending takeover.Steve Mandanda, the club's long-serving captain ended eight years at the club and moved toCrystal Palace,Nicolas N'Koulou moved toLyon, while strikerMichy Batshuayi was sold toChelsea for a club record €40 million.
Marseille began the2016–17 Ligue 1 season with interim managerFranck Passi at the helm. On 29 August 2016, it was announced that American businessmanFrank McCourt had agreed to buy the club fromMargarita Louis-Dreyfus.[10] The purchase deal was completed for a reported price tag of €45 million on 17 October 2016.[30] Within the next few days, McCourt appointedJacques-Henri Eyraud as the club's president,Rudi Garcia as the manager of the club's first team andAndoni Zubizarreta as director of sport.[31]
Formerfootball scoutPablo Longoria went from sporting director to President in February 2021.
In February 2021, after this string of losses, conflict with players, and lack of support from sporting directorPablo Longoria and President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, head coachAndre Villas-Boas offered to resign, three days after a violent riot by protesting Marseille fans at the team training grounds had forced postponement of a league match with Rennes. Marseille sacked Villas-Boas, and replaced the coach with ArgentineJorge Sampaoli. The club also appointed Pablo Longoria to be the team's new president, replacing Jacques-Henri Eyraud, as Eyraud had also been a target of the ire of Marseille fans.[34]
In January 2022, Marseille playerPape Gueye was banned from playing for 4 months by FIFA, while Marseille were given a ban on making transfers in both the summer 2022 and January 2023 transfer windows, and forced to pay €2.5 million toWatford. This came after the English club brought litigation against Marseille over the transfer of Gueye, who had originally signed a contract with Watford, but after finding out his agent had lied to him about the salary on offer, broke the contract and signed with Marseille. Marseille appealed FIFA's decision.[35] In the2021–22 Ligue 1 season, Marseille finished in second place, securing Champions League football for the first time since 2020. In the final matchday, they were helped by Lens's equalizing goal in the final moments of a 2–2 draw withMonaco.[36]
Le Classique is a football match that is contested betweenParis Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. The term Classique is modelled onEl Clásico, contested betweenBarcelona andReal Madrid. Akin to all the game's major rivalries, the antipathy between PSG and Marseille extends outside the pitch. The Frenchclásico has a historical, cultural and social importance that makes it more than just a football game, pitching capital against province, and the traditional wealth and high culture of Paris against the industrial and cosmopolitan traditions of Marseille. However, this rivalry appears only in the 1990s, where it is promoted by the respective owners of PSG - Canal+, the TV channel which broadcast the Ligue 1 football matches - and Olympique de Marseille - Bernard Tapie, also owner of the sports company Adidas -, for obvious marketing reasons. It is sometimes seen as 'the favourite son' ofFrench football against itsenfants terribles.[37][38] With PSG being located in the north in theFrench capital and Marseille located along theMediterranean coast, the rivalry is often referred to as"the North versus the South". PSG and Marseille are the only twoFrench clubs to have won majorEuropean trophies, PSG having won theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup in1996 as well as the UEFA Champions League in2025, while Marseille won the UEFA Champions League in1993. They were the two dominant forces before the emergence ofLyon at the beginning of the 21st century. However, despite their recent ups and downs, PSG and Marseille remain fierce rivals, giving this match a special atmosphere.[37][39] "Le Classique" is also known as "Le Classico".[40]
Stade Vélodrome in 2015 againstPSG, the tifo was deployed during the players entrance.
From 1904 to 1937, Marseille played at theStade de l'Huveaune, a stadium owned by the club, in contrast to its current stadium. L'Huveaune, once named Stade Fernand Buisson in honour of a formerrugby player of the club who became a member of theFrench National Assembly, was renovated at the beginning of the twenties, thanks to supporter's financial help. It had a capacity of 15,000. In 1937,l'OM moved into the much largerStade Vélodrome after compelling the city ofMarseille to lower its rent. The club made use of the Stade de l'Huveaune again during the renovation of the Vélodrome forEuro 1984, during the 1982/83 season. The Vélodrome again underwent redevelopment in time for the1998 World Cup and was transformed into an immense ground composed of twoCurva ends (Virage Nord and Virage Sud – North Curve and South Curve) which house the supporters groups as well as the main stand, Jean Bouin, and the imposing Ganay stand. In a third renovation, in preparation forEuro 2016, the municipality covered the stands with a roof, and increased its capacity to 67,000 to host theEuro 2016 games.
Before the start of each home game the song "Jump" byVan Halen is heard.When a goal is scored by Marseille in their home matches the song "Come with Me" byPuff Daddy is played.
Marseille's traditionalkit colours were white shirts and shorts with blue socks until 1986. Since 1986, Marseille have played with white shirts, white shorts and white socks, and the blue color became lighter due toAdidas marketing but in 2012–2013, the club returned to its original kit, wearing blue socks. The blue and white colours originate from the city flag of Marseille. Since Marseille was founded by Greeks and is often nicknamed the "Cité phocéenne," the colours presumably have a Greek origin.[41]
Club founderRené Dufaure de Montmirail [fr] drew inspiration from his personalseal, which featured interlaced letters"D" and"M", to create the club's first badge. The club's motto,"Droit au but", dates from the days when the club's main sport was rugby, under the name"Football Club de Marseille". The original badge featured an ornate letter"M" superimposed over an "O", with the club motto draped across the glyph. The logo persisted for three decades, until 1935, when anart deco shield was adopted, with a simple"M" encased within the"O". In 1972, OM redesigned its logo, this time preferring a complex"M" letterform. In 1986, the club re-adopted its first badge; the logo evolved slightly over the next few decades, gaining a star in 1993 to commemorate the club'sUEFA Champions League trophy. To commemorate the club's 100th anniversary in 1999, a variant featuring a golden"O" and a turquoise"M" was used; a similar 110th anniversary logo was used during the2009–10 season. The most recent form was revealed on 17 February 2004; the"O" and"M" are rendered as a single unit in turquoise without shading or borders, and the logo is capped by the golden star representing the victory in the Champions League and sits above. The club's mottoDroit Au But (French for "Straight to the Goal") also rendered in gold appears under the badge.
The lively atmosphere in theStade Vélodrome is mainly created by the dominance of various OM supporters groups who are located in theCurva ends, behind both goals.[42]
The Virage Nord is home to the Marseille Trop Puissant (MTP), Fanatics, and Dodger's supporters groups.[43] This section of the stadium is next to the away enclosure, which is protected by high fences. In 2002, the Virage Nord was officially given the name of Patrice de Peretti(1972–2000), the late founder and leader of the supporters group Marseille Trop Puissant (MTP).[44] In 2018, ownerFrank McCourt and presidentJacques-Henri Eyraud decided to exclude the Yankee Nord due to a number of delictuous activities, especially concerning tickets. They therefore forbid them to sell the said tickets, and the association is no longer officially recognized by the club.[45]
The Virage Sud is named afterNicolas Roze, a noble who distinguished himself in particular by creating a hospital during theGreat Plague of Marseille in 1720.[46] As with the Virage Nord, the South Curve is controlled by supporters groups with the CommandoUltra '84, the first group of ultra supporters in France created in August 1984, and the South Winners dominating the central section and Club Central des Supporters filling the remaining sections of the stand.[47]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Marseille have won the French national championship nine times; with nine Ligue 1 titles they are behind onlyParis Saint-Germain, who have thirteen, andSaint-Étienne, who have ten. However, the first championship won by Marseille was in 1929, before the professional era of French football.[61] Marseille also have the second best record in theCoupe de France, with ten titles.[62] Marseille have achieved two championship and cup "Doubles", in 1972 and 1989.[63] They are thefirst French club to win the UEFA Champions League, doing so in 1993.[64]
Two other formerBallon d'Or winners were hired by Olympique de Marseille:George Weah played for Marseille in 2000–01 after winning theBallon d'Or in 1995 andFranz Beckenbauer coached the team for six months in 1990.
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