Plenty of things come to mind when contemplating Marseille. The majestic Notre-Dame de la Garde that towers over the city, the pungent aromas of bouillabaisse and tagine that rise above the cobblestone streets and permeate the air, the limestone fjords of Calanques… France’s oldest city is truly a sight to behold. However, unless you’re over the age of 40, you probably don’t associate Marseille with Ligue 1 titles.
By Zach Lowy
Olympique de Marseille have finished of top of the French footballing podium on 10 occasions, five of those coming between 1989 and 1993, but they were stripped of their ninth Ligue 1 title and their maiden UEFA Champions League title as a result of a match-fixing scandal that saw them relegated to the second tier. Since then, OM have won just one major trophy – the 2009/10 Ligue 1 championship (they also won the now-defunct Coupe de la Ligue in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as well as the Trophée des Champions in 2010 and 2011).
The following 15 years have produced a paradigm shift in French football with Paris Saint-Germain emerging as the top dog and Marseille falling by the wayside. However, that hasn’t stopped their supporters from packing the Stade Vélodrome to the brim – Marseille’s average matchday attendance was 61,209 last season, well above second-placed PSG (47,199) – and after a blockbuster summer transfer window, there’s reason to believe that the excitement is only going to keep building in the port city.
It has been a seismic few months for Marseille, who lost to eventual champions Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League semifinals and stumbled to eighth place in Ligue 1, their lowest finish in eight years. Since then, they have signed a total of 13 players, ranging from Canadian duo Derek Cornelius and Ismaël Koné, Argentine pair Gerónimo Rulli and Valentín Carboni, and Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, many of whom are already making their presence known with Les Phocéens. Of the 16 players who featured in their recent 2-0 win vs. Nice, nine had arrived in the summer window, six of which were included in the starting line-up.
What’s more, they’ve managed to offload high-earning veteran players like Jordan Veretout (31), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (35), Jonathan Clauss (31) and Samuel Gigot (30). Whilst the average age of their recruits was 23.5, the average age of their outgoings was 26.3. Apart from their new goalkeeper Rulli (32), only one of their new signings is over the age of 28: Adrien Rabiot. At 29, Rabiot has started in a World Cup Final and won league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and despite receiving more lucrative offers from clubs in England, Italy and Saudi Arabia, he has elected to return to his native France, arriving on a free transfer and penning a contract through 2026.
However, perhaps their biggest coup was none other than manager Roberto De Zerbi. Marseille president Pablo Longoria had attempted to lure him to the club in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought his time at Shakhtar to a premature end, but they failed to agree terms and appointed Igor Tudor instead. Tudor guided them to a third-place finish before departing in the summer, with Marseille proceeding to go through three different managers over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. As for De Zerbi, he joined Brighton and quickly enchanted fans and neutrals alike with a possession-based style of play predicated upon short build-up play, aggressive pressing and fearless attacking football, leading the Seagulls to a sixth-place finish, an FA Cup semifinal, and their first-ever European qualification.
At 45 years old, the Italian manager has just two trophies to his name – the 2021 Ukrainian Supercup with Shakhtar and the 2016 Coppa Italia Serie C with Foggia – but it is undeniable that his unique tactical philosophy has piqued the interest of footballers and attracted them to the Mediterranean metropolis. De Zerbi’s arrival has breathed new life into a club that had been marred by chaos and inconsistency, and his new recruits are relishing the opportunity to execute free-flowing, innovative football. Only PSG (16) have scored more goals than Marseille (12) so far, only PSG (67.6%) have averaged more possession than OM (61.9%), and only PSG (9.3) are registering more shots on target per match than Marseille (6.3).
Since their Qatari takeover in December 2011, only three teams have edged Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title: Montpellier 2011/12, Monaco 2016/17, and Lille 2020/21. Whilst Marseille still have plenty of work to do before they can start dreaming of their first championship in 15 years, the signs are promising. Just like Montpellier in 2011/12, Marseille are not having to balance midweek European football commitments with Ligue 1 fixtures, and just like Monaco in 2016/17, Marseille are facing a PSG team in transition after losing their attacking talisman (Zlatan Ibrahimović / Kylian Mbappé).
Whilst their run to the Europa League semifinals certainly took a toll on their domestic form last season, this time around, Marseille can afford to put all of their eggs into one basket and focus on challenging Les Parisiens for the title. Marseille kicked off the campaign by winning 5-1 at Brest, stumbling to a 2-2 draw to Reims, and bouncing back in fashion with a 3-1 victory at Toulouse. OM have entered halftime in front in each of their first four matches, with Neal Maupay giving them the lead in the 40th minute and Luis Henrique doubling the advantage after the interval vs. Nice. Despite falling to 10 men in the 74th minute, they held firm and prevailed with their first clean sheet in Ligue 1 since March 10.
De Zerbi’s biggest test of the season so far will come on Sunday as Marseille take on Lyon at the Groupama Stadium. Marseille are second in the Ligue 1 table, level on 10 points with Monaco and two behind Paris Saint-Germain, and if Reims can halt the champions’ perfect start (they’ve drawn three of their last four against PSG), Marseille could very well find themselves in first place – provided that they hold up their end of the bargain in Lyon. However, if Marseille are to come away with a victory in the Choc des Olympiques, they’re going to have to do so without their fans, who have been banned from traveling to Lyon due to the risk of violence between supporters and law enforcement.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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