"My little brother was begging, Pape Diouf stopped to discuss"

• Former OM leader Pape Diouf died on Tuesday of the coronavirus at the age of 68.
• According to one of his relatives, he "marked the collective memory of Marseilles". More by his actions than by the victories or titles won.
• A former player from the OM training center or the older sister of a Marseille homeless man remember the generous gestures of Pape Diouf.

From our correspondent in Marseille,

It is 8 pm and the city applauds. This Wednesday, the clamor seemed to go from the Vélodrome to the Vieux-Port, like the evenings of OM victories. It must be said that the stadium participated in the collective effort: earlier this week, Olympique de Marseille had decided to illuminate it and broadcast one of the legendary songs of the spans. "To arms! We are the Marseillais. "With these initiatives, OM wanted to" pay tribute to the heroes of everyday life, the nursing staff. But the cries of the crowd also resounded for Pape Diouf, club leader between 2005 and 2009, who died Tuesday of the coronavirus suites, at the age of 68 years.

Almost everywhere in Marseille, scarves, flags, jerseys or portraits of the leader have bloomed on the balconies. "Pape Diouf has marked the collective memory of Marseilles," says Jean-Paul Delhoume. When he met Pape Diouf, the latter was an ambitious PTT employee, studying at the Institute of Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence. Pape Diouf was also passionate about sport. On Sunday evening, he collected the results of the matches over the phone, in order to help journalists from La Marseillaise . But the memory that Jean-Paul Delhoume has of Pape Diouf takes place much later, on March 5, 2006.

On that day, Jean-Paul Delhoume goes to the capital - as a Parisian would say. He will cover the evening PSG-OM meeting for La Marseillaise , for which Pape Diouf sent his reserve team: the famous "Minots", supported by a few professionals. "You had to dare," says Jean-Paul Delhoume. Paris had not allocated the number of places necessary for Marseille supporters. Diouf took this for a lack of respect and launched: "If it is so, I will forfeit!" "

“We are the champions resounded in the Church. »Https://t.co/3Iuh6hVGfg via @ 20minutes

Football officials have threatened the OM leader with the worst sanctions. So he tried, rather than going to the front, a little affront. Faced with the inexperience of the Olympians, Parisians "play like senators", as Steve Mandanda * might have said. The young Marseillais face and let the storm pass. 0-0. And a return to Marseille "triumphant", according to Jean-Paul Delhoume:

The station was full of people, smoke everywhere, an atmosphere of madness! Exactly as if OM had won the Coupe de France, it was really the heroic minots who returned. "

"I am a Parisian supporter, and yet I find that he was one of the best presidents that Marseille has ever had", considers MSK55, reader of 20minutes.fr. And this story of the little ones? "He ridiculed us, but we just had to win this game. He defended his club until the end. Respect. "This testimony honors you," admits SCDL85, a fan of OM, who reminds everyone that "the Pope had sent the reserve to the Park not against PSG but to protest against the authorities. "

We will not write that the death of Pape Diouf reconciled the supporters of PSG with those of OM: that would be to misunderstand the versatility of football fans. But everywhere in France, they pay tribute to the ex-journalist, a former leader of OM, who was also a players' agent and tried, without much success, to retrain in politics.

“My little brother was begging on the street. Pape Diouf stopped to discuss »

Daniel, supporter of PSG, remembers an “exemplary president, with great charisma. We sense that Daniel has been dreaming, lately, of what would have happened if Pape Diouf's trajectory had crossed that of his club of hearts. "I knew Pope in Saint-Etienne, I had the chance to work with him in Marseille, I had the pleasure of meeting this man," says Christian. For him, Pape Diouf was at the same time "humble, honest and cultivated". Talkative, too, since this reader of 20 Minutes remembers the “rich, passionate and fascinating presentations” of a man he will now “honor”. "

Typo ? Revealing gap? His testimony simply ends with a: “Thank you Dad. It must be said that Pape Diouf was something other than the president of OM. Zouzou, who worked for him for twelve years, was first "afraid of his impressive build", before discovering "the elegance" and the "smiles" of this man "always humble, even when he was president. "

"My little brother, a supporter of OM for a long time, begged rue Paradis," said Ingrid in her turn. Pope Diouf's real gift was not, this time either, a nice sum of money: “He stopped and talked with him for several minutes… What a moment for my little brother! "

Souleymane D., a former resident of the OM training center, remembers a complicated training. Disrupted by the presence of Pape Diouf, who came to observe the session, the young man goes on unsuccessful passes and calls in a vacuum. "After training, he said to me, I'll drive you home by car," says Souleymane D. But the plan will change: the phone rings, Pape Diouf must drop Souleymane earlier than expected. "He leaves me at La Joliette with three 500-euro notes, saying to me:" It's for your transport. " "For Souleymane, a Senegalese immigrant," Marseille has just lost one of these valiant sons. "

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* At the time of writing, the current OM keeper has not reacted to the death of Pape Diouf. Steve Mandanda arrived in Marseille in 2007, while Pape Diouf presided over the club. Since then, "Il Fenomeno" has played 549 games under the Marseille colors.

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