FEATURE | Olympique de Marseille looking to write another chapter in their rich European history

Marseille is a city like no other in France and naturally, its football club, Olympique de Marseille, is a reflection of that. The passion of Les Phocéens’ fans goes almost unrivalled in Europe. Simply put, OM are unique and in La Hexagone they hold a unique status as the only winners of the UEFA Champions League. 

Basile Boli’s header against Milan in Munich back in 1993 is a moment engraved in French footballing history – it sealed France’s first – and so far only – Champions League title. Whilst AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain have both since competed in a Champions League final, neither have matched OM’s feat. 

Historically, Marseille have been France’s representative on the continent having reached the quarter-finals of European competition in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1999; some things never change, even if France’s European prowess has been diversified of late. OM have made the quarter-final stages of European competition on 10 occasions, including this season. 

The club are accustomed to going deep in European competition, and having qualified in six out of the seven seasons since Frank McCourt took control of the club, they are a mainstay. The American owner won’t be present at the Vélodrome for Benfica’s visit on Thursday (he will instead be represented by Jeff Ingram, a member of OM’s Supervisory Board) but 65,000 fans will pour into the iconic stadium in the hope of seeing Jean-Louis Gasset’s men progress to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. 

Even despite a difficult season in Ligue 1, it is difficult to dampen the fervour in Marseille, who have averaged the eighth-highest attendance in Europe this season, ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid. However, it will be a