Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

. Founded in 1899, the club plays in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

and have spent most of their history in the top tier of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

. The club has won ten Ligue 1 titles, ten

Coupes de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

and three Coupes de la Ligue. In 1993, coach

Raymond Goethals Raymond Goethals (, ; 7 October 1921 – 6 December 2004) was a Belgian football coach who led Marseille to victory in the UEFA Champions League final in 1993, becoming the first and only coach to win a European trophy with a French club. Somet ...

led the team to become the first and only French club to win the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, defeating

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

1–0 in the final, the first under the UEFA Champions League branding of the tournament. In 2010, Marseille won its first Ligue 1 title in 18 years under the management of former club captain

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...

. Marseille's home ground is the 67,394-capacity Stade Vélodrome in the southern part of the city, where they have played since 1937. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest attendance in French football. Marseille's average home gate for the 2018–19 season was 50,361, the highest in Ligue 1. The stadium underwent renovation from 2011 to 2014, increasing its capacity to 67,000 ahead of France's hosting of

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. In 2015, the club was ranked 23rd globally in terms of annual revenue, generating €130.5 million. Marseille traditionally play in an all-white kit with sky blue detailing. In 1997, Marseille was purchased by Franco-Swiss businessman

Robert Louis-Dreyfus Robert Louis-Dreyfus ( – ) was a French businessman who was chief executive officer (CEO) of Adidas (then, "Adidas Salomon") and Saatchi & Saatchi. He was a majority shareholder of the French football team Olympique de Marseille, and durin ...

. Following his death in 2009, his widow

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). ...

became the club's majority shareholder in 2010. In 2016, American businessman

Frank McCourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank Mc ...

bought the club from her, and appointed businessman Jacques-Henri Eyraud as the club president, although he was replaced by Pablo Longoria in 2021.

History

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 five years after its foundation, the club adopted the name ''Olympique de Marseille'' in 1899 in honour of the anniversary of Marseille's founding by

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

from

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in ...

some 25 centuries earlier, with the name Olympique, coming from ancient

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. At first,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

was the most important team sport of the club, the motto ''Droit au but'' coming from rugby. Affiliated with the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) since 1898, it was only in 1902, thanks to English and

German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(according to

André Gascard André Gascard (born 16 November 1890, died 16 October 1969) was a footballer. He played most of his career at Sète and Marseille. Biography André Gascard was captain of the Olympique de Marseille team which reached the final of the Championn ...

), 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 the

Stade de l'Huveaune Stade de l'Huveaune was a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground for Olympique de Marseille from 1904 to 1937. The stadium had an eventual capacity of around 15,000 spectators, a ...

, took the leadership in the city. In 1904, Olympique de Marseille won the first ''Championnat du Littoral'', involving opposing teams from Marseille and its suburbs, and took part in the final rounds of the 11th

French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

. At that time, the word ''"football"'' applied to rugby, and people used the word ''"Association" (which would be soccer in North America)'' for football. Olympique de Marseille - OM - 1911

During the 1920s, Olympique de Marseille became an important team in France, winning the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

in 1924, 1926 and 1927. The team won the

in 1929, defeating

Club français Club Français was a French association football club based in Paris which was founded in 1890. Club Français won the 1896 USFSA Football Championship and Coupe de France Final 1931. In 1900 the USFSA elected players from Club Français to ...

. The Coupe de France in 1924 was the club's first major title, won against

FC Sète FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, a side that dominated

at the time. In the '20s, numerous French internationals, such as

Jules Dewaquez Jules Aimé Devaquez (9 March 1899 – 12 June 1971), known as Jules Dewaquez, was a French amateur footballer, who played for both club and country on the right wing. He was of shorter stature (1.69m) and renowned for his small moustache. By pr ...

, Jean Boyer or Joseph Alcazar, played for Marseille. 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 Bouisson President: M. Dard Vice-Presidents: Mr. Leblanc, Mr. Bison, Mr. Etchepare, Dr. Rollenstein et Mr. Anfosso general secretary: Mr. Possel-Daydier Treasurer: Mr Bison (assisted by Mr Ribel). For the first championship, Division 1 was divided into two pools. Marseille finished second in the first, behind

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. For its first match of the championship, Marseille defeated the future champion, Lille. In 1937, Marseille won its first professional

thanks to goal difference ''(+30 for Marseille, +17 for

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

)''. The arrival of Vasconcellos made the defence stronger, whereas former goalkeeper Laurent Di Lorto shone with

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In the meantime, Marseille won the

in 1935 and 1938 but failed a double success in 1934, due to

. In 1938,

Larbi Benbarek Larbi Benbarek; also Ben Barek or Ben M'barek, ar, العربي بن مبارك; 16 June 1917 – 16 September 1992) was a French-Moroccan football player. He represented the France national football team 17 times. He earned the sobriquet of " ...

signed with Marseille and became ''"the black pearl"'' for the team.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 against

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

), 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 the ''minots'' (young players) of the moment (Scotti, Robin, Dard, Pironti), Marseille won the cup in two matches against

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

(4–0). In 1948, thanks to a draw against

, Marseille became the champions of France. The two last victories at the Stade Vélodrome against Roubaix (6–0) and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

(6–3) were important, as Aznar and Robin's returned in spring. In 1952, Marseille were about to be relegated, but Gunnar Andersson saved his team, finishing as top scorer with 31 goals. The team won (5–3) on aggregate against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

. The same year, Marseille lost at the Stade Vélodrome against Saint-Étienne 10–3, but Liberati was injured. In 1953, Gunnar Andersson would take the record of goals scored in one season with 35. Marseille was runner-up in the

(

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

won 2–1) in 1954 and the Coupe Drago in 1957 to (

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

which won 3–1). 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.

1965–1986: Leclerc era and crisis

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 the ''Coupe de France'' in 1969 as well as the First division in 1971 with a record of 44 goals by

Josip Skoblar Josip Skoblar (born 12 March 1941) is a Croatian former professional football player and manager. He was primarily a forward, and also capable of playing on both wings. He played for Zadar, OFK Belgrade, Hannover 96, Marseille and NK Rijeka. Wh ...

, helped by

Roger Magnusson Roger Magnusson (born 20 March 1945 in Mönsterås) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a right winger. He is a brother of fellow footballer Benno Magnusson. He played for the Sweden national team and for various clubs in Europe, i ...

. The arrival of

Georges Carnus Georges Carnus (born 13 August 1940) is a French former professional footballer who played as goalkeeper. At international level, he made 36 appearances for the France national team. Career Carnus was part of the France national team's squad ...

and

Bernard Bosquier Bernard Bosquier (born 19 June 1942 in Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie) is a French former international footballer who played as a defender. Career Bosquier came up from Olympique Alès, and signed with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in 1961, where ...

from Saint-Étienne helped them to win the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 1972. Marseille played in the European Cup in 1971–72 and 1972–73, but were knocked-out by

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

and Juventus, 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 star Zoltán 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. 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: the ''Minots'' who allowed the team to return to First division in 1984.

Éric Di Meco Éric Yves Di Meco (born 7 September 1963) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back. Club career Di Meco was born in Avignon, Vaucluse. During his career, he played mostly for Olympique de Marseille. After starting ...

was one of them.

1986–1996: Tapie era, bribery scandal, and decline

On 12 April 1986,

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bor ...

became president, thanks to

mayor

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956� ...

, and promptly built the greatest team seen in France up to that point. His first signings were Karl-Heinz Forster and

Alain Giresse Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French football coach and former player who is the current manager of the Kosovo national team. He was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an attacking midfielder or central ...

, who were bought after the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

. Tapie signed a large number of highly regarded players over the next few years in his pursuit of the European Cup, such as

Jean-Pierre Papin Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known for ...

, Chris Waddle,

Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional Association football, football player, manager, and executive. A Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He ama ...

Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of ...

Abedi Pele Abedi Ayew ( ; born 5 November 1964), known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the g ...

Basile Boli Basile Boli (born 2 January 1967) is a Ivorian-born French former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current television sports presenter. He spent the majority of his career with Auxerre and Marseille before ending his c ...

Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, l ...

Rudi Völler Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen. A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...

Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland ...

and

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

as well as appointing high-profile coaches like Franz Beckenbauer,

Gérard Gili Gérard Gili (born 7 August 1952) is a French football manager and former player. Gili's highest profile appointment was as manager of Ivory Coast. He was named as the Ivorians' head coach in January 2008, following the resignation of Ulrich ...

and

. Between 1989 and 1992, Olympique de Marseille won four league titles in a row and the

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

. The team also reached the Champions Cup final for the first time in 1991, losing on penalties to

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

. The highlight of the club's history is winning the new format Champions League in 1993.

scored the only goal against Italy's

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

held in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. That triumph was the first time ever for a French club and it made

and

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, AS Monaco, Manchester United ...

the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title. This triumph, however, was followed by a decade of decline. In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match-fixing scandal involving then-president

, they suffered enforced relegation to the second division, where Marseille stayed for two years before returning to the First division. Moreover, they lost their 1992–93 Division 1 title and the right to play in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, the 1993 European Super Cup and the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. This scandal, called ''l'affaire VA-OM'' (VA for Union Sportive Valenciennes-Anzin and OM for Olympique de Marseille), was exposed by

, whose players

Jacques Glassmann Jacques Glassmann (born 22 July 1962) is a French former footballer who played as a defender. He is famous for having revealed the bribery scandal involving Olympique de Marseille and his team US Valenciennes. He and teammates Jorge Burruchag ...

Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Luis Burruchaga (; born 9 October 1962), nicknamed ''Burru'', is an Argentine association football coach and former professional football player. He played both as an attacking midfielder and forward and scored the winning goal in the fi ...

and Christophe Robert were contacted by Marseille player

Jean-Jacques Eydelie Jean-Jacques Eydelie (born 3 February 1966) is a French former professional footballer most noted for his role in the Marseille UEFA Champions league 1993 win. Career Eydelie was born in Angoulême, Charente. A midfielder, he began his career ...

to let OM win and, more importantly, not to injure any OM player ahead of the

final.

1996–2009: Return to success

Marseille returned to the top flight in 1996 with backing from

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

's CEO

. He chose

Rolland Courbis Rolland Courbis (; born 12 August 1953) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. He was most recently manager of Stade Rennais F.C., having replaced Philippe Montanier on 20 January 2016. Career Bo ...

as coach, signed

Fabrizio Ravanelli Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player. A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio, and also played for Middlesbrough, ...

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...

, and

Andreas Köpke Andreas "Andy" Köpke (, born 12 March 1962) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After being selected for the Germany national team squads that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the ...

, and Marseille finished 11th for his return. For the 1998–99 season, the team celebrated their centenary and built a team of stars:

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French football coach and former professional player. Pires played for French clubs Metz and Marseille prior to his time with Arsenal, where he won two FA Cups and two Premier League titles inclu ...

Florian Maurice Florian Maurice (born 20 January 1974) is a French football executive and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He most notably won the 1998 Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue with French team Paris Saint-Germain. He play ...

, and

Christophe Dugarry Christophe Jérôme Dugarry (born 24 March 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. His clubs include Bordeaux, Milan, Barcelona, Marseille, Birmingham City and Qatar SC. He was also a member of the France team ...

, culminating in a second-place finish in the

, behind

and an appearance in the UEFA Cup Final in 1999, losing to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. Courbis left the team in November 1999 after a poor start to the season. The closest Marseille got to another trophy was when they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2004, impressively beating Dnipro,

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and Newcastle United along the way. But they were beaten in the final by newly crowned Spanish champions

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and once again fans were forced to continue waiting for the next trophy to come along. In 2005, Marseille succeeded in winning the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...

, beating the likes of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

in doing so, and earning another shot at the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

In January 2007, there was negotiation between Louis-Dreyfus and

Jack Kachkar Jack Kachkar (born February 19, 1963) is an entrepreneur and business man. Early life Kachkar was born in Damascus, Syria, to Armenian parents (Mihran Missak Kachkar; née Kachkarian). His parents were Armenians from Syria. Kachkar immigrated f ...

, a Canadian doctor and businessman ''(CEO of pharmaceutical company Inyx)'', about selling the club. As

took too much time to buy the team, Louis-Dreyfus decided on 22 March 2007 not to sell to the Canadian businessman. Another close call to glory was in the

final against

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. In the Champions League, Marseille became the first French team to win at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

when they beat 2007 runners-up Liverpool 1–0, and the team took six out of six points from their opening two games. They only drew one more match, and in a winner-takes-all final group game they lost 4–0 to Liverpool, who became the first English team to win at the Stade Vélodrome. Marseille, coming third in the Champions League Group A, then joined the

. Marseille finished the 2008–09 season with a second-place finish in Ligue 1, following a tight race with Bordeaux for the title. This earned them direct entry into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, their third consecutive season in the competition. Marseille won the 2010 Coupe de la Ligue Final beating Bordeaux 3–1 at the

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

in March 2010. This was their first major title since their Champions League triumph 17 years earlier. Two months later, Marseille won their first league championship for 18 years with two games to spare after beating

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

3–1. Marseille defeated rivals

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

(PSG) on penalties to win the 2010

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

at Stade 7 Novembre in Rades,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, before the season began. Marseille then became the first team to win back-to-back

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

successes when they won the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

edition by beating

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

1–0 on 23 April. Before that, they qualified for the last 16 of the

for the first time since their historic success, but lost 2–1 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

to Manchester United and also set a Champions League record by thrashing

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...

7–0 in what was the biggest away win in the competition's history. In 2011, Marseille lost the Ligue 1 championship title but qualified for the

for the fifth time in a row, a club record. On 27 July 2011, Marseille won the 2011 Trophée des Champions title by beating

5–4 at Stade de Tanger in Morocco. The result was significant as OM were 3–1 down with five minutes to go, only to embark on a remarkable comeback which saw 5 goals scored in the last five minutes with

André Ayew André Morgan Rami Ayew (; born 17 December 1989), also known as Dede Ayew in Ghana, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and captain of the Ghana national team. He is the second-born son of ...

scoring a hat-trick.

2009–2014: Deschamps, Baup, Anigo

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 against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

in the Champions 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, but rallied to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since winning the competition in 1993. Despite an indifferent club form, OM lost to eventual finalists Bayern Munich, and slumped to an overall tenth-place finish in

. However, the club retained the

for the third year running, beating

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

1–0 in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In the summer of 2012, Deschamps resigned, and later took on the

job.

Elie Baup Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked ...

took over, leading the club to a surprising second-place finish in the 2012–13 season despite selling multiple key players, including

Loïc Rémy Loïc Alex Teliére Hubert Rémy (born 2 January 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Brest. Rémy began his career playing for a local youth club in his home city of Lyon, before joining the bigge ...

César Azpilicueta César Azpilicueta Tanco (born 28 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Chelsea and the Spain national team. A youth product of Osasuna, Azpilicueta spent three seasons in La Liga before switchin ...

and

Stéphane Mbia Stéphane Mbia Etoundi (born 20 May 1986) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or defender. He played 179 games and scored nine goals in Ligue 1 over nine seasons playing for Rennes, Marseille and Toul ...

. Marseille returned to the Champions League, spending close to €40 million on the likes of

Dimitri Payet Dimitri Payet (; born 29 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Marseille. A set-piece specialist, known for his accurate, bending free kicks, he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, and is described a ...

Florian Thauvin Florian Tristan Mariano Thauvin (born 26 January 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga MX club Tigres UANL. He made his professional debut for Grenoble in 2011, moving on to Bastia where he won the Ligue 2 t ...

and

Giannelli Imbula Gilbert Imbula Wanga (born 12 September 1992) is a professional footballer who last played as a defensive midfielder for Portuguese club Portimonense. Born in Belgium, Imbula played youth football for France, before changing international allegi ...

. The club were top of the table at the end of August 2013, but OM proceeded to lose all six games in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, 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 to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

at Stade Velodrome. He was replaced on an interim basis by

José Anigo José Anigo (born 15 April 1961) is a French football former manager and former defender. Career Anigo was born in Marseille, and after a tough childhood went on to play for his home town club for eight years where he established a reputation ...

. 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 the 2014 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.

2014–2015: Bielsa era and stagnation

Marseille announced on 2 May 2014 an agreement with

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

, 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 the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. June 2015 saw three key players leave the club—

André-Pierre Gignac André-Pierre Christian Gignac (born 5 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Tigres UANL. Gignac is described as a "powerful and dangerous" striker who is known for his "aerial presence". He ...

and

left the club for

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

and Swansea City, respectively, after their contracts expired, while

left to join

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

for a €15 million transfer fee. After a solid pre-season, which included a 2–0 win over Juventus in the Robert Louis-Dreyfus Trophy and the signature of nine players, Bielsa resigned from his post, just minutes after the first Ligue 1 game of the 2015–16 season against

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Míchel was announced as Marseille's new coach. He endured a frustrating season, with OM failing to win a home game in

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 the

final for the first time in nine years, losing out 4–2 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 Steve Mandanda Mpidi (; born 28 March 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Rennes. Mandanda spent most of his professional career with Marseille, making over 600 appearances across all competition ...

, the club's long-serving captain ended eight years at the club and moved to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, Nicolas N'Koulou moved to

, while striker

Michy Batshuayi Michy Batshuayi-Atunga (born 2 October 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Belgium national team. Batshuayi began his professional career at Standard Liège in 2011, scorin ...

was sold to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for a club record €40 million.

2016–present: New ownership and revival

Marseille began the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season with interim manager Franck Passi at the helm. On 29 August 2016, it was announced that American businessman

had agreed to buy the club from

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Margarita Louis-Dreyfus (née Bogdanova; born 1 July 1962) is a Russian-born Swiss billionaire businesswoman, chairperson of the Louis-Dreyfus Group. Early life Born Margarita Olegovna Bogdanova (russian: Маргарита Олеговна Бо ...

. The purchase deal was completed for a reported price tag of €45 million on 17 October 2016. Within the next few days, McCourt appointed Jacques-Henri Eyraud as the club's president,

Rudi Garcia Rudi José Garcia (; ; born 20 February 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr. Early life Rudi Garcia's father, José, was a Spanish expatriate who played ...

as the manager of the club's first team and

Andoni Zubizarreta Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (, ; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The all-time most capped player for the Spain national team for several years, he played with individual and team su ...

as director of sport. On 3 May 2018, Marseille reached the final of the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2018 UEFA Europ ...

after eliminating Red Bull Salzburg in the semi-finals 3–2 on aggregate, 14 years after its last final in a European competition in 2004 against

. However, they lost

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. In the 2019–20 Ligue 1 season, Andre Villas-Boas became head coach. Marseille finished second after the season was ended early due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, thus qualifying for the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defeat ...

for the first time since 2013–14. In February 2021, after this string of losses, conflict with players, and lack of support from sporting director Pablo Longoria and President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, head coach Andre 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 Argentine

Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach who is currently manager for Sevilla of La Liga. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli starte ...

. 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. In January 2022, Marseille player Pape 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 to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. 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. In the 2021–22 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 with

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Le Classique

''Le Classique'' is a football match that is contested between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. The term Classique is modelled on

El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...

, contested between

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. Like all the game's major rivalries, the antipathy between PSG and Marseille extends outside the pitch. The French ''clásico'' 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 Marseile - Bernard Tapie, also owner of the sports company Adidas -, for obvious marketing reasons. It is sometimes seen as 'the favourite son' of

against its ''enfants terribles''. With PSG being located in the north in the French capital and Marseille located along the

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...

, the rivalry is often referred to as ''"the North versus the South."'' PSG and Marseille are two of just three French clubs to have won major European trophies, PSG having won the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

in 1996 and Marseille won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, and they were the two dominant forces before the emergence of

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. "Le Classique" is also known as "Le Classico".

Stadium

From 1904 to 1937, Marseille played at the

, a stadium owned by the club, in contrast to its current stadium. L'Huveaune, once named Stade Fernand Buisson in honour of a former

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player of the club who became a member of the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

, was renovated at the beginning of the twenties, thanks to supporter's financial help. It had a capacity of . In 1937, ''l'OM'' moved into the much larger Stade Vélodrome after compelling the city of

to lower its rent. The club made use of the Stade de l'Huveaune again during the renovation of the Vélodrome for Euro 1984, during the 1982/83 season. The Vélodrome again underwent redevelopment in time for the 1998 World Cup and was transformed into an immense ground composed of two

Curva Curva (plural: ''curve'' ) is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of ...

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 for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

, the municipality covered the stands with a roof, and increased its capacity to 67,000 to host the

games. Before the start of each home game the song "

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

" by

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

is heard. When a goal is scored by Marseille in their home matches the song " Come with Me" by Puff Daddy is played.

Kits and crest

Marseille's traditional kit 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 to

marketing but in 2012–2013, the club returned to its original kit, wearing blue socks. Club founder

René Dufaure de Montmirail René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the feminin ...

drew inspiration from his personal

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

, 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 an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

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's UEFA 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 the 2009–10 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 motto ''Droit Au But'' (French for "Straight to the Goal") also rendered in gold appears under the badge.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Supporters

Virage Nord De Peretti

The atmosphere in the Stade Vélodrome is created by the dominance of OM's own supporters who are located in the

style ends behind both goals. The North Curve is home to the Marseille Trop Puissant, Fanatics, and Dodger's supporters associations who buy up the tickets at the start of each season and sell them on to their members. The Virage Nord 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). In 2010, the third kit of OM was a tribute to MTP, with the red, yellow and green colours of Africa, symbols of this left-wing curva. In 2018, owner

and president Jacques-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.

Virage Sud Chevalier Roze

The virage is named after

Nicolas Roze Nicolas Roze (17 January 1745 – 30 September 1819) was a French composer and music theorist. Biography Born in Mercurey, Roze was a choirboy at the , Nicolas Roze was noted for his beautiful voice and received a good musical training. He was ...

, a noble who distinguished himself in particular by creating a hospital in Marseille during the Great Plague of Marseille in 1720. As with the Virage Nord, the South Curve is controlled by supporter's associations with the Commando

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...

'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. The 2007/08 third shirt of OM was a tribute to South Winners fans whose colours are orange, as they are traditionally left wing fans.

AEK Athens, AS Livorno and Sampdoria

There is a strong relationship between

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

AS Livorno Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 (formerly A.S. Livorno Calcio, commonly known as Livorno), is a semi-professional Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. They compete in Serie D, the top tier of semi-professional Italian football after ...

UC Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

and Marseille. Marseille fans often lift banners and create choreography in support of the fellow teams. At the opposite, also because of different political opinions they use to argue with many SS Lazio fans.

Players

First-team squad

Out on loan

Reserve squad

Player of the season

Personnel

Technical staff

{, class=wikitable , - ! Position !! Name , - , Manager, , Igor Tudor , - , rowspan=2, Assistant managers , ,

Hari Vukas Hari Vukas (born 6 October 1972) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is currently assistant to Olympique Marseille manager Igor Tudor. Managerial career After having spells as head coach of Dugopolje, Zagora Une ...

, - ,

Jacques Abardonado Jacques Abardonado (born 27 May 1978) is a French former footballer who played as a defender. He was the interim manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille in 2023. Personal life Abardonado is of Spanish Romani descent through his father. His cousin ...

, - , Video analyst , , Giuseppe Maiuri , - , Goalkeeping coach , , Antonello Brambilla , - , Fitness coach , , Carlo Spignoli , - , rowspan=2, Club Doctors , , Abdou Sbihi , - , Jean-Baptiste Grisoli , - , Assistant Doctor , , Mathias Giustiniani , - , rowspan=5, Physiotherapists , , Maxime Matton , - , Youssef Rahou , - , Pierre Vespignani , - , Stéphane Ré , - , Yannick Dyduch , - , Nutritionist , , Cécile Capdeville , - , Osteopath , , Gilles Davin

Management

{, class=wikitable , - !Position !Staff , - , Owner , ,

, - , Majority Shareholder , , McCourt Global LLC , - , President , , Pablo Longoria , - , Sporting Director , , Javier Ribalta , - , Technical Director , , David Friio , - , General Manager , , Laurent Colette , - , Secretary-General
Legal Council , , Alexandre Miahle , - , Chief Financial Officer , , Stéphane Tessier , - , Director of Strategy , , Pedro Iriondo , - , Director of Communications , , Jacques Cardoze , - , Director of Academy , , Marco Otero

Honours

Marseille have won the French national championship nine times; with nine Ligue 1 titles they are behind only Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain, who both have ten. However, the first championship won by Marseille was in 1929, before the professional era of French football. Marseille also have the second best record in the

, with ten titles. Marseille have achieved two championship and cup " Doubles", in 1972 and 1989. They are the only French club to win the UEFA Champions League, doing so in 1993.

Domestic competitions

French Championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

**Winners (9): 1936–37, 1947–48, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2009–10 **''Runners-up'' (13): 1937–38, 1938–39, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1986–87, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2021–22 *

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

** Winners (1): 1994–95 ** ''Runners-up'' (2): 1965–66, 1995–96 *

** Winners (10): 1923–24, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1942–43, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1988–89 ** ''Runners-up'' (9): 1933–34, 1939–40, 1953–54, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1990–91, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2015–16 *

** Winners (3): 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 *

The trophy was known as ''Challenge des Champions'' until 1995, and as ''Trophée des Champions'' ever since. ** Winners (3): 1971,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

**''Runners-up'' (3): 1969, 1972,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Coupe Charles Drago The Coupe Charles Drago was an elimination cup competition organised by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, between clubs that are knocked out before the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe ...

** Winners (1): 1957

International competitions

* European Cup/UEFA Champions League ** Winners (1): 1992–93 ** ''Runners-up'' (1): 1990–91 * UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League ** ''Runners-up'' (3): 1998–99, 2003–04, 2017–18 * UEFA Intertoto Cup ** Winners (1): 2005

Ballon d'Or

The following players received the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...

award whilst playing for Olympique de Marseille: *

– 1991 Two other former

winners were hired by Olympique de Marseille:

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served a ...

played for Marseille in 2000–01 after winning the

in 1995 and Franz Beckenbauer coached the team for six months in 1990.

European Golden Shoe

The following players have won the

European Golden Shoe The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boo ...

whilst playing for Olympique de Marseille: *

(44 goals) – 1971

UNFP Player of the Year

The following players have won the UNFP Player of the Year whilst playing for Olympique de Marseille: * Didier Drogba – 2004

UNFP Young Player of the Year

The following players have won the UNFP Young Player of the Year whilst playing for Olympique de Marseille: *

Franck Ribéry Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (; born 7 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. Ribéry has been des ...

– 2006 *

Samir Nasri Samir Nasri (born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he had also been deployed in central midfield. Nasri was known for his dribbling, ball control ...

– 2007 *

William Saliba William Alain André Gabriel Saliba (born 24 March 2001) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Arsenal and the France national team. Club career Saint-Étienne Saliba began playing football at the age of six ...

– 2022

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marseille, Olympique Association football clubs established in 1899 G-14 clubs Football clubs in Marseille 1899 establishments in France UEFA Champions League winning clubs M Ligue 1 clubs