Marseille eye return to European glory days
MARSEILLE: Quarter of a century on from giving French football its crowning moment in Europe, Marseille are dreaming of continental glory once again.
But the club that won the inaugural Champions League in 1993 — still the only time the European Cup has been won by a French side — must first come through a semi-final against Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg, with the first leg at the Velodrome today.
If Marseille can win before a sell-out crowd of more than 60,000 on today, it will set them up to finish the job in next week’s return and keep them on course to make a final that will be played in France, at the home of their bitter rivals Lyon.
Given that Atletico Madrid and Arsenal meet in the other semifinal, Marseille cannot be seen as favourites to lift the trophy.
Nevertheless, the rousing 52 win over RB Leipzig in the second leg of the quarter-final at the Velodrome confirmed that they are a club on the up again under Rudi Garcia.
The former Lille and Roma coach has spearheaded Marseille’s revival on the field since American tycoon Frank McCourt’s takeover of the club in late 2016.
McCourt immediately launched his ‘Champions Project’, aimed at getting the club back into Europe’s top club competition again as soon as possible.
They are currently locked in a fierce battle with Lyon and Monaco for two Champions League qualifying berths in Ligue 1 behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.
“We are on a winning run, which is important, and now we are going to study Salzburg closely.” said Garcia after a 5-1 weekend win over Lille.