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Olympique de Marseille is a football team that plays in Ligue 1, the top level of the French Football League, based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, Marseille is one of the largest and most successful clubs in France. It is the best-supported club in the country, and the only French team to have won the Champions League. However, having suffered from scandalous financial irregularities in 1994 and the resulting relegation, the club has not won a major trophy in over a decade. Nicknamed l'OM - sometimes spelled phoenetically as l'Oheme - fans of the club can often be heard chanting "Allez l'OM, allez!" ("Go Marseille, go!"). The club's motto is Droit Au But, French for "Straight to the Goal". Marseille is also well known for its fierce rivalry with Paris Saint-Germain.
History Marseille was founded in 1899. The highlight of the club's history is winning the Champions League in new format in 1993. That triumph was the first time that a France-based club has won, and it made Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title. This, however, was followed by a decade of decline. In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, they suffered forced relegation to the second division. Upon returning to the top flight in 1996 with backing by Adidas's owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus, l'OM reached the UEFA Cup Final in 1999; the closest Marseille to get another trophy was when they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2004, impressively beating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Inter Milan, Liverpool and Newcastle United along the way. But they were beaten in the final by newly-crowned Spanish champions Valencia and once again fans were forced to continue waiting for the next cup to come along. Recently, Marseille succeeded in winning the 2005 Intertoto Cup, beating the likes of SS Lazio and Deportivo La Coruna in doing so, and earning another shot at the UEFA Cup. Stadium The team regularly fills their imposing home of the Stade Vélodrome, which seats 60,000. Marseille's vast support continues to show unwavering and impressive loyalty to the club, despite having several average seasons since their return to the top flight. The fans continue to hope that Marseille will regain its former glory. Honours Marseille has won 8 French championships (record is owned by Saint-Etienne, 10 times champions) and a record 10 French Cups. Marseille's latest title arrived in 1993, which had since been stripped off following a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie. The club also won the Champions League in the same year, defeating A.C. Milan in the final. Current Squad As of August 4, 2006 In Out Tentative line-up and formation 4-1-2-3 formation Former Famous Players | ||||||||
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