Olympique de Marseille players during the Ligue 1 match against Lille at the Stade Vélodrome, September 20, 2020. -
Daniel Cole / AP / SIPA
It took no less than seven years to hear the chants of Marseille supporters again during a Champions League match.
And for their comeback in competition this Wednesday at 9 p.m., OM will face Olympiakos Piraeus.
On the Greek lawn, the Phocéens will find in front of them an ex-Marseillais: Mathieu Valbuena, become at 36 years the master to play of the Olympiakos.
👥 The group convened by coach André Villas-Boas for the 1st day of @ChampionsLeague ⭐️ #UCL #OLYOM pic.twitter.com/F0OlABoV0x
- Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) October 20, 2020
The asset of the club's history
Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas, the first to believe in this Champions League dream, brought the club back to the forefront of the European stage.
He is advancing modestly, facing a rival more used to playing this event, narrowly eliminated last year in a difficult group, with Bayern, Tottenham and the Red Star of Belgrade.
But OM have history on their side, with "the golden star above the coat of arms", celebrating the triumph of 1993.
Marseille also has vengeful players who have not played in the competition for a long time, such as Steve Mandanda, Dimitri Payet or Florian Thauvin.
For Pedro Martins, the Portuguese coach of the “Erythrolefki” (red and white), his team, OM and Porto start on the same line for second qualifying place in Group C, Manchester City being the favorites.
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