Olympique de Marseille (OM) qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa Football League on April 18, beating the Portuguese Benfica. Beaten 2-1 in the first leg, the Marseillais came back to score (over both matches) thanks to Moumbagna (79th minute), before winning on penalties (4-2). Thursday May 2 at 9 p.m., at the Stade-Vélodrome, they will face the Italians Atalanta Bergamo for the first time, who eliminated Liverpool in the previous round. This will be the tenth European semi-final for Olympique de Marseille. This is how the previous nine went.
OM lost the first leg (3-2) in Rotterdam (Netherlands), in a match as crazy as the De Kuip stadium, boiling for its team. The Marseillais first conceded two goals in two minutes, then managed to equalize through Dieng then Gerson before half-time. But the Dutch take the advantage after a blunder by Caleta-Car, on a back pass to his goalkeeper. This ball will be very expensive since Jorge Sampaoli’s men, quickly diminished by the exit of Payet due to injury (33rd), will not manage to turn the tide in the return match, at the Vélodrome (0-0).
After Athletic Bilbao and RB Leipzig, Rudi Garcia’s OM faced the Austrians of Salzburg in the semi-final of the 2018 Europa League. The Phocéens won 2-0 in the first leg at the Vélodrome: on a free kick , Payet ideally serves Thauvin, who opens the scoring with a header at the far post. It was again the French international who made the decisive pass for the second goal, scored by Clinton Njie.
The Phocaeans were scared in the return match (2-1): the Austrians scored two goals, but the Minots snatched qualification thanks to a goal from a corner by Portuguese international Rolando in the last minutes of extra time (116th). In the final, Olympique de Marseille – without the injured Dimitri Payet – will be defeated by Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético Madrid, who achieves a double (3-0).
Under the leadership of Jean Fernandez, the Marseillais got the better of the Italians of Lazio de Rome, after a promising draw in Rome (1-1, goal by Meïté). In the return match, Franck Ribéry’s teammates totally dominated the match: they won 3-0, including a goal from his midfielder.
The final of the competition then pitted the Marseille club, managed by Pape Diouf, against Deportivo La Corogne. After a 2-0 defeat in Spain, Marseillais overthrew the Galician club 5-1 and delivered another European trophy to the city in an epic return match. Enough to bring billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus, then the club’s main shareholder, onto the lawn in tap shoes.
After the draw (0-0) obtained in England, José Anigo’s Marseillais played a fiery game at the Vélodrome and eliminated Newcastle (2-0). Didier Drogba scores a double. And how can you forget your first goal? In the 18th minute of play, the Ivorian international placed a cross shot after clearing the last defender with a famous heel dribble behind his supporting leg.
The second goal is also worth the detour: a few minutes from the end of the match (82nd), midfielder Laurent Batlles gets a free kick on his right flank. Meïté, Beye and Drogba stand at 16 meters, pretending to want to head the ball. When Laurent Battles starts, they rush towards the goal. Beye and Meïté continued their effort, taking the English defenders with them, but not Didier Drogba, who found himself alone at the penalty spot. The Ivorian doubles the bet and delivers his own.
Facing Valence CF in the final, Didier Drogba and Fabien Barthez can do nothing against Vicente and Mista. Valencia destroys Marseille’s coronation dreams, 2-0.
At the Vélodrome, Rolland Courbis’ OM were held in check (0-0). At home, the Italians opened the scoring in the 20th minute and dampened Marseille’s hopes. On a deep pass from Jocelyn Gourvennec, Florian Maurice found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper and collapsed in the area. Thanks to the away goals rule – abolished in 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) – Laurent Blanc qualifies his team on a penalty, taken twice, a few minutes from the end (88th) of a match under very high tension.
The Bolognese enjoyed it moderately, and fights broke out at the end of the meeting. UEFA will open an investigation, and Christophe Dugarry, among others, will be suspended for six matches. We have to believe that the Marseillais will have left more than Dugarry’s forces in trouble… In the final, they fell, soundly beaten (3-0) by Parma, another Italian club.
The first edition of the Champions League sees two groups of four clubs compete, before the final. OM ranks first in Group A after two draws against Rangers FC (2-2 and 1-1), two victories against FC Bruges (3-0, goals from Sauzée and double from Boksic, and 0- 1) then a draw (1-1) and a card against CSKA Moscow (6-0, hat-trick from Sauzée, and goals from Ferreri, Desailly and Pelé).
The Phocéens of Didier Deschamps and Rudi Völler do not miss their meeting in the final of the Champions League. Facing the formidable AC Milan of Van Basten, Rijkaard and Maldini, they climbed to the roof of Europe thanks to a header from Basile Boli, receiving a corner kicked by Pelé (44th). Forever the first!
The team of coach Raymond Goethals and Franz Beckenbauer, then technical director of the club led by Bernard Tapie, reached the final by beating the Russian team Spartak Moscow twice: 3-1 in the first leg, where Pelé, Papin and Vercruysse stand out. The return, to the Vélodrome, is a confirmation: the Pelé-Boli pair disgusts the Russians (2-1) and offers the club the first European final in its history. Despite ten shots – compared to three for Red Star Belgrade – the French champion allowed himself to be caught up in a disastrous penalty shootout. The first shooter, Manuel Amoros, saw his shot stopped; Pascal Olmeta can’t do anything against the Red Star shooters. The Marseillais lost 5 shots on goal to 3.
It was Vata’s hand that eliminated OM in the semi-final that year. Surprised in the first leg by a goal from Lima in the 10th minute, from a corner taken by Valdo, Gérard Gili’s men quickly dispelled the misunderstanding: at half-time, they returned to the locker room reassured by Franck Sauzée’s equalizer and the advantage given by the essential Jean-Pierre Papin (2-1).
We leave it there, and we will stay there for a long time in the return match, at the Luz stadium in Benfica. That was without counting, in the 83rd minute, on a new corner from Valdo, who this time found… the right forearm of Angolan international Vata Matanu Garcia, known as Vata. He claimed (and still claims) to have scored with his shoulder. Di Meco and the other defenders immediately raised their arms, but the referee validated the goal and the Olympians failed to equalize.
This is the first semi-final in the history of the club, created in 1899, managed by Bernard Tapie since 1986. And it starts very badly, at the Vélodrome (0-3): Rob Witschge scores a double in the first half , and Dennis Bergkamp confirms the domination of Ajax (86th), which has just left its coach, Johan Cruyff. The gang of Papin, Pelé and Giresse, coached by Gérard Banide, recovered on the return and won 1-2 in the Netherlands, which was insufficient to qualify.
