On the Marseille side, the 2023-2024 season will have been painful, between coaches’ waltz and stations of the cross in Ligue 1. Fortunately, the European Cup was there to bring joy to the Old Port. A joy that Marseille fans hope to see continue as OM approach their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday against Atalanta Bergamo.
Published on: 02/05/2024 – 07:19
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Beat PSG by winning a European Cup before the capital? The Marseillais dream of it, faithful to their credo “Forever the first!”, and while OM’s possible Europa League final is scheduled 10 days before the Champions League final for which Paris, despite its defeat in semi-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund, hopes to qualify.
If PSG and OM still have a long way to go before this dream scenario for French football, Marseille has reminded throughout the season to what extent Europe is in its DNA. In a year of all the difficulties, Canebière experienced its only exaltations during a European journey which will reach its first climax, Thursday May 2 at the Vélodrome stadium, in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League against Atalanta Bergamo
“We’re going to go to the final!”
Sunday, after a success that fell from the sky against Lens (2-1), Samuel Gigot gathered his teammates in a circle. “We’re going to go to the final, guys! We’re going to give everything until the end! We’re still alive!” proclaimed the Marseille captain, who will be suspended on Thursday.
Gigot’s harangue confirmed that Atalanta was indeed in the minds of the Marseillais from Sunday, and undoubtedly even a little before. His sentence also reminds us that if OM, only 7th in Ligue 1, is “still alive”, it is probably to the Europa League that the club owes it.
As early as September, in the midst of a governance crisis, without a coach and with a management which had “taken a step back”, OM had thus brought home a meritorious 3-3 from a trip against Ajax in Amsterdam.
Throughout their journey to the semi-finals, the Marseillais also eliminated Shakhtar Donetsk, Villarreal and their former coach Marcelino, then Benfica on penalties, an evening when the Vélodrome made a resounding noise.
“Europe enlivened us. We had the feeling of a breath of fresh air, it did us a lot of good,” confirmed right-back Jonathan Clauss this week at a press conference. “The results and performances gave us confidence when we were in difficulty. And now, we arrive at this semi-final which allows us to finish as best as possible this season.”
“An entire city will play a semi-final”
Jean-Louis Gasset, who started on the Marseille bench one evening of the European Cup against Donetsk (3-1), also confirmed the special link that exists between continental competitions and OM, and even a little more.
“The impression I have is that it’s not just a club. It’s an entire city which is going to play a semi-final of the European Cup. We can’t take a step without that someone tells us about it. That’s what I feel. We are proud of our progress and that doesn’t just concern the club, but the whole city,” added the Marseille coach.
On the supporters’ side, we also recognize that the good run in C3 and the prospect of seeing Dublin on May 20 contributed to maintaining a form of social peace, which could have been threatened by the vexations of a failed season in championship.
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But OM and their public have finally made their way in this Europa League and are preparing to experience their third European semi-final in seven years against Atalanta.
In 2018, Rudi Garcia’s team continued its journey to the final, where it was stopped by Atlético de Madrid. In 2022, on the other hand, with Jorge Sampaoli, the adventure ended in the semi-final against Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Against Atalanta, OM therefore hopes to win a new C3 final, which would be the fourth after those, all lost, in 1999, 2004 and 2018. The last was against Atlético Madrid and a match lost 3 goals to 0 .
“It’s something very important and we are happy to be able to play this semi-final against a very strong team. But we must not be satisfied with this happiness,” warned Marseille president Pablo Longoria on Sunday, who will return to a club where he was a very young recruiter in the early 2010s.
“The semi-final is not the objective, it is the path to the final and to the possibility of winning a title,” he especially recalled.
With AFP
