Marseilles bounce back

Time for a little Euro-soccer quiz about a side seemingly on its way back to the top after recent disgrace: Name the club with which the following international talents have been associated either as player or manager - German Franz Becken bauer, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Papin, Brazilian Mozer, German Rudi Voeller, Croat Alen Boksic, Frenchman Didier Deschamps, Belgian Raymond Goethals and Englishman Chris Waddle.

If one adds the name of Tony Cascarino, many Irish fans will recognise the club in question. If one adds the name of former French Socialist MP and Minister, Bernard Tapie, however, then soccer fans all over the world will have little difficulty in identifying Olympique Marseilles.

French champions for four years in succession between 1989 and 1992, Olympique Marseilles (OM to their fans) went on to become the first French side to win the Champions' Cup in 1993, when they beat AC Milan 1-0 in Munich.

Within days, however, things had turned sour. Details of an extensive league match-fixing scandal, allegedly orchestrated by Tapie, began to emerge. In particular, Tapie had allegedly "bought" first division side Valenciennes, the side Marseilles faced in their last league game before the Champions' Cup final.

Following an inquiry, Marseilles were stripped of their 1993 league title and demoted to Division Two.

Marseilles languished in the lower division for two years before making a distinctly unglorious return to Division One last season, when they finished 11th in the league.

This season, however, all is changed. Marseilles are once again in the top flight, a position underlined not only by their league standing (they are currently second, having been knocked off the top by a 2-0 defeat by Strasbourg last weekend), but also by their willingness to spend $8.5 million for Fabrizio Ravanelli two months ago.

Apart from the name, there are no longer any links between Tapie's Marseilles and that of the current boss, Robert-Luis Dreyfus. The current coach, Rolland Courbis, did play for Marseilles, but in the early 1970s, long before the Tapie era.

The turnover has been complete and Dreyfus promises to take Marseilles back to the top of Europe. Dreyfus, president of the multinational sports wear giant Adidas, has promised to put his money on the line, too, with the $8.5 million spent on Ravanelli the first instalment of a $30 million spending budget over the next two seasons.

For the time being, Ravanelli and the former Napoli and Barcelona libero Laurent Blanc are the only internationally recognised stars in the squad, but that has not stopped the side putting together some impressive league performances. Coach Courbis, who guided Bordeaux into fourth place last season, claims that he has not been all that surprised by his side's good showings so far, adding:

"You mustn't forget that 90 per cent of the actors and all the scenesetters were changed in the off-season. So, when you renew a team and when you're lucky not to make mistakes in how the players complement each other, then you don't need 10 years to put 11 players in place and make them play football."

Courbis is the first to acknowledge that Marseilles have had one precious helping hand throughout their recent dark years - terrific home support. Despite their troubles, Marseilles have continued to be the best supported side in France.

The passion for football in Marseilles is one reason why the head of the organising committee for France '98, Michel Platini, is so keen to see the Mediterranean port play a big role in next summer's World Cup finals. The draw for France '98 takes place in Marseilles next week, while France are due to open their World Cup campaign on June 12th next in the city. Furthermore, one of next summer's two semi-finals will be played in Marseilles.

Between now and next June, however, Marseilles fans may have more than World Cup glory to cheer about.