OM, 7 years of misfortune

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By: Manu Tournoux

This is the rather severe assessment that we can draw from the Frank McCourt mandate. The American became the owner of OM seven years ago, to the day.

On October 17, 2016, Frank McCourt became the owner of OM. The record of the American businessman, successor in Marseille to the Louis-Dreyfus family, is marked by no title won.

Beaten in the final of the 2018 Europa League by Atlético de Madrid (3-0), the Olympian club also failed in the Coupe de France, a trophy which has eluded it since… 1989.

8 coaches in 7 years…

Twice, OM had the opportunity to win back the popular competition when PSG was no longer in the race. We are thinking in particular of 2022-2023 when Igor Tudor’s men defeated the Parisians (2-1).

OM were then humiliated at home by Annecy, residents of Ligue 2, in the next round, eliminated on penalties in the quarter-final.

Since the arrival of McCourt, the Marseille club has also been knocked out of the Coupe de France by Andrézieux (2019) and Le Canet-en-Roussillon (2021), never going beyond the quarter-finals. When will the eleventh title in the competition be?

Despite three places on the Ligue 1 podium under the McCourt era (2020, 2022, 2023), OM also failed in the Champions League, unable to wait for the round of 16.

Another disappointment, a semi-final of the very modest Europa Conference League lost against Feyenoord Rotterdam in 2022.

Otherwise, McCourt has seen eight coaches in seven years (Rudi Garcia, André Villas-Boas, Nasser Larguet, Jorge Sampaoli, Igor Tudor, Marcelino, Jacques Abardonado and Gennaro Gattuso), crises, the last of which a few weeks ago almost brought down President Pablo Longoria.

The situation is far from satisfactory this season. OM failed to qualify for the final phase of the Champions League, was corrected in Paris by PSG (4-0) and currently occupies sixth place in the Championship. Not enough to blow out the candles.

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