Casting
Christophe Bouchet, president of OM between 2002 and 2004 Laurent Perpère, president of PSG between 1998 and 2003 Alain Cayzac, president of PSG between 2006 and 2008
How does the role of president of PSG or OM differ from other clubs?
Laurent Perpère: First, Paris and Marseille have a lot of media exposure, and Paris even more than Marseille. In Paris, the pressure comes from the fact that, as you can see, every day The Parisian makes two pages on PSG, The Team is a page, or even more… There is no other club that is like that. When you look France Football or others, the front pages that work are Paris, Paris, Paris and possibly a little Marseille, the rest… Pfff.
Christophe Bouchet: Today in France, there are two clubs: PSG and OM. There is no photo. There is daily pressure which is not at all the same as for any club. What changes everything between these clubs and the others is that you are constantly observed and by everyone: the supporters, the general public, the media. These are the clubs that interest the outside world, so they have the other side of the coin, we are trying to find out what the internal stories are. I was vice-president of Tours FC, we always feel that there is a little pressure exerted, but in Marseille, more than in Paris, it is complicated to leave the house, to go buy bread, do your shopping or go to the cinema. All this is legitimate, we should not complain about it, but people need to know, to be informed. You have to take precautions, the supporters are very direct, even vehement. Whether it’s positive or negative, it’s always exuberant.
Alain Cayzac : You easily go from hero to zero, if you win you make X million fans happy, if you lose you make them despair. It’s not all negative, even if there are very hard moments. It avoids getting bored. (Laughs.)
We used to say that the three most important positions in Marseille are mayor of the city, president of OM and president of Provençal. The place of supporters is incomparably more important in Marseille.
Laurent Perpère
Precisely, the supporters have a certain weight within the two clubs. How is the context different from this point of view between Paris and Marseille?
CB : When you are at OM, you are a bit of a bearer of the supposed values of the city, the club, etc. It’s a lot more practice than in Paris. Mbappé’s belly dance, he would not have done it in Marseille in my opinion, he would not have dared to do it. That’s the difference between Paris and Marseille, he wouldn’t have had the guts in Marseille.
LP : Marseille has something that is enormous, it is the pressure from the supporters and the place of OM in the city. PSG is of course the Paris football club, but there are other things than PSG in Paris, other sporting, cultural offers, etc. While OM takes up considerable space. We used to say that the three most important positions in Marseille are mayor of the city, president of OM and president of the Provençal. The place of supporters is incomparably more important in Marseille.
AC : I have always had good contact with the supporters. There was a minority that I do not call supporters within the Boulogne stand and who were at the origin of the drama with Mr. Quemener (the Parisian fan killed on November 23, 2006 on the sidelines of PSG-Hapoël Tel Aviv, Editor’s note). Apart from that, the bosses of the different associations came to my office, I did not run away from them. I even went to the Supras Auteuil premises several times. Differences in Marseille? They are much more keen to know everything about the club, to interfere in club affairs.
I hope that we never confuse Olympique de Marseille with the Marseillais. Whether PSG speaks ill of OM or the opposite, it’s normal, it’s the rules of the game. But it must not become a war of the cities.
Alain Cayzac
Beyond their sporting rivalry, doesn’t this particularity of the two clubs bring them together in a certain way?
CB : The leaders of the two clubs don’t always get along, but they understand each other quite well. If only on the issues of security and movement of supporters. When you travel with Sochaux, it’s less significant. The colleague I met the most at Paris Saint-Germain was Francis Graille. We spoke almost every week. We had common issues, we tried to have the same wavelengths in the authorities, and then we had a very strong relationship of trust.
AC : I had excellent relationships with (Pape) Diouf. It was admitted that rivalry existed and that it was almost desirable. I experienced the beginnings of this rivalry at the time of Canal+ and Bernard Tapie, where it was somewhat orchestrated to make the championship interesting. I hope that we never confuse Olympique de Marseille with the Marseillais. Whether PSG speaks ill of OM or the opposite, it’s normal, it’s the rules of the game. But it must not become a war of the cities. When OM is insulted, I can’t say that I’m devastated, but not the Marseillais, it’s very different.
From a sporting point of view, how do you see this Sunday’s Classic?
LP : I find that Paris has a very solid, very coherent team, with a very good coach. I saw the Marseille match against Ajax where they were quite remarkable in their courage. Marseille surely want to show that despite everything, they are a team, so it makes an interesting contrast. But I don’t know if the courage and talent of certain Marseille players will be enough in the face of the kind of confidence that PSG is gaining.
AC : I think the rivalry is getting lost a little. I remember when (Unit) Halilhodzic was coach, on match day the president (Francis) Graille was giving a little overview, and Vahid absolutely wanted me to speak, especially for the Marseille match. Paris is rather favorite, but that doesn’t mean anything, we saw the kids come and score 0-0 at the Parc des Princes. With what happened this week, Marseille and its new interim coach (Pancho Abardado, NDLR)who is a fighter, will be keen to put on a serious, aggressive match.
CB : The Classic has lost its sporting importance over the past ten years. We cannot compare a club owned by a state with unlimited resources and the other clubs in the championship, Marseille included. There remains the legend, the folklore, the confrontation between the capital and the rest of France, between the central power and the people. These are quite strong springs, but on a sporting level, the debate is quite limited.
There is one certainty, which is that the president of OM, whoever he is, will have to continue to work with the supporters. There is no choice, no other possibility.
Christophe Bouchet
The two clubs have several times experienced complicated situations on an extra-sporting level, as is the case with OM this week. What can be the role of a president in this type of situation?
LP : Ask Longoria. (Laughs.) The president tries to represent the institution, but it is sometimes a little complicated if the institution itself is called into question. How to approach this match in this context? When you’re not familiar with the locker room, you don’t know what’s going on and what’s going on. Players may be completely indifferent to it or consider that they have something to prove outside of extra-sporting disruptions or they may be dragged into it.
AC : The role of a president is twofold. First, to keep your nerves. You have to be prepared for the fact that it’s a job where there is 95% hassle and 5% pleasure. I told my wife: « It will go wrong one day, but I don’t know when… » And secondly, you have to communicate. I haven’t always applied this to the letter and I was a little wrong, but I think you have to communicate, especially when it doesn’t work. One day there was a poll in The Team : the greatest quality of Cayzac? Communication. Its main fault? Communication. It’s a tough job, but a fascinating job.
CB : If we take the current situation, it is still somewhat the president who put the wow. I’ve had a little difficulty following his intellectual approach over the past few days. There is one certainty, which is that the president of OM, whoever he is, will have to continue to work with the supporters. There is no choice, no other possibility. There is no identikit to be president of OM. If we take the last three, they don’t have much in common. What OM has been lacking for several years is to have a form of stability in the strategy. I don’t think permanent turnover can lead to anything positive.
Lyon, maintenance operation!
2023-09-24 04:00:21
#Paris #Marseille #daily #pressure #Ligue #PSGOM
