History

The club was founded in 1899 and has since established itself as one of the great powers of French football, being the only team in the country that has managed to win the top European club competition.

The trophy cabinet is dominated by the Champions League trophy of the 1992-93 season, while beside it are 10 French league championships and 10 French Cups.

The Stadium

One of the most historic stadiums in Europe, the Velodrome is the second largest stadium in France, with a capacity of 67,394 fans. It was built in 1937, and has been renovated three times since then, with the last one taking place in 2014.

It has hosted matches for the World Cups of 1938 and 1998, for Euro 1960, 1984 and 2016, and it also hosts rugby matches for both France and Toulon.

This season’s story so far

Everyone at the club has openly stated that the team’s top priority is to secure second place in the league, which leads to the Champions League groups, in order for the club to secure significant revenue. Marseille is currently on target to do that in the league, being 12 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain and three ahead of Rennes, who are stalking them in third.

In the French Cup, Marseille exited at the quarter-final stage as they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat by Nice.

In Europe, the team’s course started from the UEFA Europa League groups. Against Galatasaray, Lazio and Lokomotiv Moscow, the French club had four draws, one win and one defeat and were satisfied with the third place and falling into the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League.

There, in four games, they have recorded four victories, having initially eliminated Quarabag with a total aggregate score of 6-1, and then Basel with an aggregate score of 4-2.

The coach

In March 2021, Villas-Boas was sacked from his role. The management made a decision that caused mixed feelings among the fans. Jorge Sampaoli was chosen to take over the team.

The Argentine did not find it difficult to say yes. Apparently he thought Marseille was the ideal destination for him, in order to finally succeed on the other side of the Atlantic.

Despite his great experience, Sampaoli has spent only a few months in Europe, being the coach of Sevilla, whom he had left to accept a proposal from the Argentine national team.

A winner of the Copa America with Chile, Copa Sudamericana with the University de Chile, he left the dugout of his home national team as a failure after Argentina were eliminated from the 2018 World Cup.

He stayed out of the game for a short while, before returning to action with Santos, an then came the offer from France and a return to Europe.

An admirer of Marcelo Bielsa, he is also a coach who never sits on the bench, acting more as a basketball team coach, unpredictable and a fan of attacking football.

The squad

The club have a set of players that have everything. Experience, quality, talent and a variety of options in each area. Pau Lopez and Steve Madanda share the goalkeeping position, with the Spaniard having played the most games, while the Frenchman tends to play more in the European matches.

In the defensive line, Ćaleta-Car, Peres and Kolasinac are flanked by the young Saliba and Lirola. Dominating the midfield is the French international Matteo Guendouzi, who is on loan from Arsenal, with players like Rongier, Camara and Gerson next to him, who can offer a lot in defense and attack.

Finally in attack, there is the star of the team, Dimitri Payet, who despite his 35 years continues to be crucial for Sampaoli’s team. The club’s main center forward is Arkadius Milik, with Cedric Bakambu being the backup, while Amin Harit and Cengiz Under particularly dangerous on the wings.

Latest news

Marseille will line up against PAOK with a significant absentee in the form of Polish forward Milik, who has not overcome an injury problem and will not be at the disposal of Sampaoli, as well as the suspended Luan Peres.

Marseille’s squad for the game:

Madanda, Ngapandouetnbu, Lopez, Saliba, Kolasinac, Ćaleta-Car, Lirola, Salim Ben Seghir, Kamara, Gerson, Gueye, Ronier, Guendouzi, Balerdi, Bakambu, Dieng, Payet, Under, Harit.