Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin 12:20 a.m., March 2, 2023
OM once again bid farewell to the Coupe de France to everyone's surprise.
Igor Tudor's men were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the competition by Annecy, residents of Ligue 2, after a breathless penalty shootout.
Yet widely favored, Marseille sank against a "small", as in previous editions.
Olympique de Marseille can no longer do so in the Coupe de France.
Beaten at home in the quarter-finals of the competition by Annecy, a Ligue 2 club, the Olympians were once again taken out by a "small club".
Current tenth in the second division, the players of Annecy took full advantage of their luck and qualified for the last four on penalties.
For several years now, OM have had the unfortunate habit of being surprised in the Coupe de France by lower-ranked teams, i.e. playing in divisions below Ligue 1. Since the 2000s, the club of the Marseille city has been eliminated five times by teams of amateur or semi-professional level, without taking into account the defeat of Wednesday evening against Annecy (professional club but playing in Ligue 2).
>> READ ALSO
- Coupe de France: after OL, Toulouse and Nantes win their ticket to the semi-finals
Carquefou, Quevilly, Andrezieux…
The bad habit of the Marseillais began in 2008. OM were then surprised by Carquefou in 2008, a club playing in CFA 2 at the time (National 3), in the round of 16 of the competition.
Four years later, it was the team from Quevilly (National 1) who came to undermine the plans of the Olympians in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Grenoble in turn came to surprise OM during a 32nd final of the Coupe de France in 2015. The residents of the Stade des Alpes then played in CFA, current National 2. The nightmare continues in 2019 with a premature elimination in 2019 by fans of Andrézieux, a National 2 team before Canet-en-Roussillon, also a National 2 club, repeated the same feat in 2021 but this time in the round of 16.
In 13 editions, the Olympians have therefore fallen on average a little more than once every three years.
>> READ ALSO
- Record with the Blues, PSG coach, the five highlights of Just Fontaine's career
Objective: European place
With this defeat against Annecy, a professional club but in the second division, OM's curse continues.
Former record holder for the number of titles in the competition, the Marseille club lost this status to the prodit of Paris Saint-Germain.
With 10 Coupe de France titles, the Marseillais have been dislodged by the Parisians who have 14, including five won in the last six years.
The Coupe de France is a challenge for clubs since a title offers a qualifying place for the Europa League.
Current runner-up to PSG in the Ligue 1 standings, the Marseillais now only have the championship to hope for a ticket to Europe next season.