Olympique de Marseille Profile

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

Olympique Lyonnais Profile

Formed: 1950
Nickname: Les Gones (The Kids)

UEFA club competition honours
• None

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 7 (2008)
French Cup: 4 (2008)
League Cup: 1 (2001)

History
• Though they can trace their origins back to the end of the 19th century, Lyon in their current form were founded by a group of local enthusiasts as late as 1950. Local surgeon Albert Trillat suggested the team’s name and that the players wear the city’s colours of red and blue; a year later the club won the French second division.

• Lyon spent the bulk of the next 30 years in the top flight, winning the French Cup three times and revelling in the exploits of Jean Djorkaeff, Nestor Combin and the hero of the 1960s, Fleury Di Nallo. Until recent years, those cup exploits were Lyon’s only major honours, the club spending a long period in the shadows of local rivals AS Saint-Étienne.

• After losing several key players towards the end of the 1970s, including Bernard Lacombe and Raymond Domenech, Lyon were relegated in 1983 after 29 years in the élite division.

• The gloom was lifted with the arrival of ambitious young software magnate Jean-Michel Aulas in 1987, the new chairman promising to get Lyon into Europe within four years. They met that target too, after first securing promotion under Domenech in 1988/89, and with Florian Maurice and then Sonny Anderson grabbing the goals they started making headway in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

• With Jacques Santini at the helm, Lyon lifted the League Cup in 2000/01, a triumph that presaged a sustained era of success. They claimed their first ever Ligue 1 title the following season and went on to pick up six more in a row as a succession of coaches, including Paul Le Guen and Gérard Houllier, profited from the club’s excellent organisation behind the scenes.

• Lyon reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals three years running between 2004 and 2006 and surpassed that feat in 2009/10, losing against FC Bayern München in the last four.

Club Records
Most appearances: Serge Chiesa (541 matches)
Most goals: Fleury Di Nallo (222 goals)
Record victory: 10-0 twice, most recently at home against Sports Réunis Dellois (French Cup, 8 January 1956)
Record defeat: 7-0 three times, most recently at AJ Auxerre (Ligue 1, 25 October 1996)

 

From: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=5312/profile/index.html