Foot: Death of Pape Diouf, former journalist, agent and boss of OM

Text by: David Kalfa Follow

Pape Diouf, 68, died on March 31, 2020 of the coronavirus, when he was to be transferred from Dakar to France. He was an influential figure in French and African football. After having been a journalist and then a players' agent, the Franco-Senegalese chaired Olympique de Marseille from 2005 to 2009.

Publicity

With his high stature and his eloquence, Pape Diouf did not leave indifferent. This sports enthusiast, born in Abéché in Chad, did not like warmth anyway. This soldier's son was not lacking in character and it took him to disobey his father by marrying another way than his own.

Pope Diouf left at the age of 18 in the South of France, branched off. " The main reason that brought me to France is that I had to go to military school ," he told OM Mag , in 2008. When I arrived, I realized that it was a real commitment in the army and not a school. I refused to commit. So I had to meet my needs by doing odd jobs. The first was as a courier. Then I was a pointer at the port of Marseille then I did handling. Much later, I tried the entrance exam to the Aix-en-Provence IEP which I passed . ”

A journalist at the heart of the Marseille reactor

His passage at Sciences Po Aix turns out to be anecdotal. Through an acquaintance, the Franco-Senegalese integrates the local newspaper La Marseillaise. " These were fabulous years for me," he said. I first worked on it as a "keyboardist" (editor's note: person who composes the characters of a text to be printed on a keyboard) , then as a proofreader. At the same time, I was already a freelancer in the sports department. I was then offered to devote myself solely to the service of sports ”.

After having dealt with basketball news, the journalist becomes responsible for the football section and covers OM news. Pape Diouf finds himself at the heart of the Marseille football reactor.

Transition to the function of agent

In 1987, Pape Diouf joined the editorial staff of the new daily newspaper, Le Sport , which was supposed to compete with L'Équipe . The adventure ends after a few months. The reporter finds himself at a turning point in his life. “ At the same time, two men intervened: Joseph-Antoine Bell and Basile Boli , underlines the interested party, about the ex-goalkeeper and the former OM defender. Both wanted me to take care of their careers. I knew the principles and the main lines of the profession of player agent. I hesitated, given the reputation of this profession. In the end, I made the decision to do it . ”

It is the beginning of a prosperous period. Pape Diouf, with a large address book, is building a solid network. He manages the interests of big names like Marseille Desailly, Bernard Lama or Didier Drogba.

OM results but no titles

In 2004, a new turning point. Pape Diouf once again crosses the barrier. He joined OM as general manager of the club. A few months later, he became president of the Marseille club, thanks to the support of its owner, Robert Louis-Dreyfus.

After two suitable first seasons, during which the French team finished 5th in the French Championship, it crossed a level. The Marseillais finish on the podium during the following three exercises.

But, despite convincing results, Marseille did not win any notable trophy during this period. And tensions with other members of the management are right for the presidency of Pape Diouf, in June 2019.

"A sympathetic anomaly"

During the decade that followed, Pape Diouf remained a diligent observer and commentator on football, French and African in particular. Proud of his career, the binational liked to define himself as " a sympathetic anomaly ", even if his status as the only black president of a large European football club sometimes left him bitter. " It is a painful observation, like European and, above all, French society, which excludes ethnic minorities, " he judged in an interview with Jeune Afrique .

More positively, he concluded in OM Mag : “ At this level, we feel that there are many changes today. Barack Obama's rise in the United States is a case in point… Yes, but we have to be careful. From this point of view, American society is much more ready than French society. I don't know a French Obama at the gates of the Élysée… It takes time! I will live until I die without knowing this. "

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