Formed: 1899
Nicknames: Les Olympiens (The Olympians), Les Phocéens (The Phocians), OM
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs’ Cup: 1993; (1991)
• UEFA Cup: (1999), (2004)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 9 (2010)
• French Cup: 10 (1989)
• League Cup: 2 (2011)
History
• The only French side to have won the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, Marseille were slow burners. Formed in 1899, OM began to make their mark with three French Cup triumphs in four years (1924, 1926, 1927). They turned professional in 1932 and, after winning the cup again in 1935, claimed a first championship title in 1937.
• Another French Cup triumph followed in 1943 and a second title five years later, but the club’s fortunes were in decline despite the presence of all-time leading scorer Gunnar Andersson. Marseille were relegated in 1958/59 and only in 1965, when Marcel Leclerc became club president, did things improve.
• OM returned to the top flight in 1966 and, with Yugoslavia striker Josip Skoblar setting the Stade Vélodrome alight, took French football by storm. They won successive titles in 1970/71 and 1971/72, the latter half of a domestic double, yet by the end of the decade Marseille had lost their lustre and they were relegated in 1980.
• Les Phocéens bounced back under new owner Bernard Tapie and secured another double in 1988/89, embarking on a run of four straight titles between 1989 and 1992. The disappointment of losing in the 1991 European Cup final was forgotten when a side captained by Didier Deschamps beat AC Milan to lift the trophy in 1993, Basile Boli’s goal proving the difference in Munich.
• Celebrations were short-lived. Found guilty of match-fixing, Marseille were demoted to the second tier and stripped of the 1992/93 French title. Though they soon bounced back, major silverware proved elusive. OM reached two UEFA Cup finals but lost both, to Parma FC (1999) and Valencia CF (2004), and it was a similar story in the French Cup finals of 2006 and 2007. The curse was finally lifted in 2009/10 as they followed up their maiden League Cup success with a first title since 1992.
Club Records
Most appearances: Roger Scotti (451)
Most goals: Gunnar Andersson (187)
Record victory: Marseille 19-0 Stade Raphaëlois (French Cup, 29 October 1933)
Record defeat: Olympique Lyonnais 8-0 Marseille (Première Division, 24 May 1997)
From: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=52748/profile/index.html
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