Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille, commonly referred to as Marseille or OM, is a French professional football club based in Marseille, competing in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Established in 1899, the club has secured nine league titles, ten Coupe de France titles, three Coupe de la Ligue titles, three Trophée des Champions titles, one UEFA Champions League title (a national record), and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. Marseille has also reached the finals of the UEFA Europa League three times.
In 1993, under coach Raymond Goethals, Marseille became the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League, defeating Milan 1–0 in the final, the first held under the UEFA Champions League branding. The club won its first Ligue 1 title in 18 years in 2010, managed by former club captain Didier Deschamps.
Marseille’s home ground is the 67,394-capacity Stade Vélodrome, located in the southern part of the city, where they have played since 1937. The stadium was renovated between 2011 and 2014, increasing its capacity to 67,000 for UEFA Euro 2016. The club boasts a large fan base and regularly achieves the highest attendance in French football, with an average home attendance of 50,361 during the 2018–19 season, the highest in Ligue 1. Marseille has a long-standing rivalry with Paris Saint-Germain, with whom they contest Le Classique.
In 1997, the club was purchased by Franco-Swiss businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus. After his death in 2009, his widow Margarita became the majority shareholder in 2010. In 2016, American businessman Frank McCourt acquired 95% of the club’s stake and appointed Jacques-Henri Eyraud as president, who was later replaced by Pablo Longoria in 2021.
Marseille was listed in the Deloitte Football Money League at the end of the 2022–2023 season, ranking as the 20th football club globally by revenue, estimated at €258 million. In 2023, the club was placed twenty-eighth globally in brand power by Brand Finance, receiving an AA (“very strong”) rating with a score of 71.3 out of 100. Additionally, Marseille ranked twenty-eighth in terms of brand value (€173 million) and enterprise value (€458 million).
Achievement
Domestic Competitions
- Ligue 1
- 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
- Winners (1): 1994–95
- Runners-up (2): 1965–66, 1995–96
- Coupe de France
- 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
- Coupe de la Ligue
- Winners (3): 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
- Trophée des Champions
- Winners (3): 1971, 2010, 2011
- Runners-up (3): 1969, 1972, 2020
- Coupe Charles Drago
- 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
Notable Player
Didier Drogba
Arrival at Marseille (2003):
- Drogba joined Marseille in the summer of 2003.
- The Mediterranean city embraced football, and he found an environment where people lived and breathed OM (Olympique de Marseille).
- Marseille, aiming for renewed glory, had fallen from their past heights.
Performance and Achievements:
- Goal Scoring: Drogba made an impact, scoring 19 goals in 35 appearances during his lone season.
- UEFA Cup Run: His six goals in eight games led Marseille to the UEFA Cup final, although they lost to Valencia.
- UNFP Player of the Year: Drogba’s impressive form earned him the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Player of the Year award.
Steve Mandanda
- Full Name: Steve Mandanda
- Date of Birth: March 28, 1985 (39 years old)
- Place of Birth: Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Current Club: Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1)
- Notable Achievements:
- Ligue 1 Titles:
- 2009–10: French champion with Marseille.
- Coupe de la Ligue Titles:
- 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12: Lifted the trophy with Marseille.
- Trophée des Champions:
- 2010, 2011: Won the French Super Cup.
- UEFA Europa League Runner-up:
- 2017–18: Reached the final.
- World Cup Winner (2018):
- Represented France and lifted the trophy.
- Goalkeeper of the Season (Ligue 1):
- 2007–08, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18: Voted the best goalkeeper in the league
- Ligue 1 Titles: