IT was 14 years since Olympic des Marseilles defeated PSG in League One at the Belodrome. A long 14-year wait for Marseille fans to win 10 championships (13 total compared to nine in OM) and the Champions League (matching Marseille’s victory in 1993). Of course, a single coincidence with Sheikh Nasser’s acquisition of the Paris club in 2011, an overwhelming and sudden change in power balance.
Walking through the streets of Marseille, I realize how difficult it must be to embrace Parisian rule in recent years. Marseille’s Om is everywhere. The murals color every wall in the city. On a shirt that Marseirai proudly wore on the street. The team’s coat of arms is not missing at the bar, restaurant, supermarket or shop sign. This is a full ID and exists between the city and its soccer team. This is one of the reasons Roberto de Zerbi chose to settle in Cote d’Azur after his Premier League experience. Marseille is a city that breathes soccer every day, weekly, year-round. Paris, on the other hand, represents a way to live soccer in anti-pode, as the enemy city can be seen from the many shirts worn by fans with the inscription “Anti-PSG” rather than the player’s name. The French capital exists in fashion and art, and the match at the Park des Princess seems to be just one of many entertainments where one can dedicate himself. Culturally, Paris cannot be considered a soccer city
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Tension over postponement of the match helped to exacerbate the already high levels of tension. The match, scheduled for Sunday, on the 21st, has been postponed due to the downpour that hit Marseille after the afternoon. The postponement sparked controversy on both sides. Marseille requested to play from the start on Monday, appealing to regulations that must be used to recover matches using the first available date. PSG was forced to postpone until Tuesday or the end of December to avoid a collision with the Barondoor Ceremony. Ultimately, OM went that path. They will play at 8:00 PM on Monday.
Sociopolitical conflict
At 5pm, the atmosphere outside the Velodrome is already burning. Some Parisian fans have commented on social media that it was a skirmish for the “classic” another demonstration that all Marseille fans are unemployed. As is often the case, it should be remembered that rivalry also goes beyond football and goes beyond the socio-political aspects between Marseille and Paris. Conflicts often exist between the cultural and economic capital (Paris) and the country’s south, with its lifestyle being more passionate and hedonistic, but also more complicated on the social level. The chant is dedicated to almost all arch rivals. Although OM did not win at home for 14 years, fans do not stop claiming they belong to the “right” side of French football history. At about 6:30pm, everyone travels towards the bus arrival. First, Marseille arrives, and you are greeted with applause and cheers. But that’s all. What really matters is to unleash all the hatred that has accumulated over the 14 years when PSG arrived into the Velodrome without a personalized bus for security reasons. Crossing cities can be dangerous. In 2015, the PSG bus entering the Velodrome was stoned by an OM fan who broke a window in the front of the vehicle. Although none of them were injured, PSG has been traveling Secret since that day. This is “le classic”.
It is wonderful to combine the interior of the Velodrome, its impressive nature with the elegance of its swelling structure, like a butterfly in the form of a stan, and its curves stand out. Furthermore, when the most famous OM Chant begins, “Aux Arms” (To Arms”) begins. One end sings it, the other end responds from the other side. When the player goes to the field, two choreography will be displayed. One on the edge, the stadium’s roaring sounds deafening. Virage Sud displays a huge photo of the OM logo and inscription “Olympic Marseille since 1899”. Meanwhile, Virage Nord is exhibiting the city of Marseille coat of arms. The flags held by fans constitute the “2600” (several years since the city was founded) that completes the banner. Unlike most European stadiums, here the entire stadium, including the stands, follows almost every song without exception. OM plays a game of suffering and containment despite De Zerbi’s offensive beliefs, but because of a return to victory that he missed for 14 years, otherwise it wasn’t. The stadium adapts to ecstasy and bursts with each sweep, clearance or collision of a gladiator in a white and blue shirt. For the last few minutes, everyone is alive with their hands raised above their heads, everyone is shaking nervously. The final whi is the cry of liberation that has been choked for 14 years. At the end of the match, the fight breaks out as something is thrown from the stands by the PSG player. It is excessive love that sometimes leads to insanity. Virage Sud again shows the choreography. It’s a way to reaffirm with the enemy that OM status has been regained. Then again, “aux armes-nous sommes les marseillais-nous voulons gagner allez l’om” (“In the arms! We are Marseille! We are here to win, Arez Homme!”) rings. This time it’s not a cry of encouragement for the fight. Now there is all the pride of the victory achieved.
A perfect celebration in the city of Marseille
n After the game, outside the stadium, the parties are total, no limits, no limits. The background sound is a mix of horns and engines roaring, and the rhythm of the July Marseille symbol and the straight bass beat of the Homme rapper. The streets in front of the stadium are governed by a complete disorder. Traffic is completely blocked by celebrating fans singing and waving scarves and flags against car windows, but drivers don’t seem to care. They themselves celebrate with the same enthusiasm and sing horns. The van then passes by and the crowd immediately has a great intuition. About 30 fans jump in behind them and fly around like crazy. Others have climbed onto the roof of another truck, where police had previously been beginning to get closer to the threat of charging, with fans venting steam.
Marseille’s Madness is a city that lives for its football teams and is a legacy of evacuating from many of the social issues that plague it, including the extremely high average unemployment rate and the crime rate that will become one of Europe’s most dangerous cities. But when the lights of the Velodrome are lit, the difficulties give way to parties where the division of the city is overcome in the name of the spirit of the community. That’s what it means for the entire city to push teams. After waiting 14 years, Marseille is dreaming again.
