In May 1993, Olympique de Marseille were on the roof of Europe after winning the Champions League. Less than a year later, the Marseille club was administratively demoted to the Second Division following the VA-OM affair.
Having returned to the elite in 1996, the Ciel et Blanc will never again experience this golden age corresponding to the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the following decade. However, recruitment could give rise to certain hopes.
Particularly with a certain Reynald Pedros, who arrived from FC Nantes. Very quickly, the French international will disappoint the Stade Vélodrome, never regaining the level he had with the Canaries.
Reynald Pedros, a flop at OM
“We weren’t doing anything. Sometimes, in Marseille, it was 45 minutes of bullfighting and then locker room… I couldn’t take it anymore… It wasn’t football”recalled Reynald Pedros during an interview given to France Football in 2012.
Reynald Pedros will not last long on the Canebière. During the 1997 winter transfer window, he headed to Parma. Without success either, his career already being behind him. His missed shot on goal against the Czech Republic during Euro 96 was the turning point in his career.
