Olympique de Marseille

Those who know me know : Support OM is an integral part of my life and this since my childhood. This may seem incredible, or even stupid to some people, but Marseille is a city that breathes football, like Glasgow which is beating at the rhythm of the Celtic's games at Celtic Park and Rangers's games at Ibrox. A common point between Marseille and Glasgow.


The Passion

As I said above, the Football passion in my city is unrivaled in France. You can talk about OM with children, adults and with seniors and seeing them excited by mentioning the latest results of the team. This feeling takes you to the guts when OM plays, a defeat will make the strongest supporters of bad moods for the entire week. Before arriving in September in Glasgow, I subscribed to North Stand (at Fanatics Group) and this for several years. The club has 8 groups of fans which are distributed in North and South Stands. These groups are the hallmarks of the Velodrome making it one of the noisiest stadiums in France. The Velodrome has 67,000 seats and is the largest stadium in the French championship. My passion for OM pushed me to go out of South borders to see OM at Lille or Reims lately. You should know that thousands of fans from all over France moves to see the matches of the Marseille team.


The palmares

To understand this, one must know that OM is a legendary club in France, the most emblematic. Its record speaks for itself and makes it one of the most successful clubs in France (11 earned championships , the last in 2010. 10 France Cup and 1 Champions League in 1993 for major titles).

OM experienced a long period without any title. After his title of France Champion in 1993, the club has been demoted to the second division. If OM back quickly in D1, the club will experience a long period without any title despite 2 finals of the UEFA Cup (1999 and 2004) and 2 France Cup finals (2006 and 2007), all lost. It was not until 2010 and the League and Cup double for review OM win a title under the command of Didier Deschamps.


An unpredictable club

The club has also  another specificity : it never happens anything as expected.. Tranquility doesn't exist. He will always happen an event that will make the headlines of French newspapers. This is one of the reasons why I love my club, or sometimes hate it. That was the case during this evening of August 8 2015, where Marcelo Bielsa, who was the OM headcoach ( idolized ) decided to resign, taking everyone to walk against. You will therefore understand, it is not advisable to support this club if you have cardial problems...


One last word...

You will therefore understand, this is a unique club in France and Europe, and I advise you to go see a football game at the Velodrome Stadium if you are visiting Marseille and that OM plays in Marseille at the same time, you will not be disappointed.

Let's start with a bit of history

Not easy to summarize the history of Marseille in a few lines ... however, it is always interesting to be aware of the major events that have marked the history of the city that we visit. This is why I choose to firstly speak about some main histories facts

Antiquity:
600 BC, Greek colonists from Phocaea, founded a city northeast of the existing old port of Marseille. It is a thriving quoted facing the sea and trade, it is administered by a board of 15 "first". In the second century BC, Marseille appealed to Roman Gallic face threats. It will then be conquered by Julius Caesar, which deprives it of its colonies. The Roman city of Massilia continues to thrive and grow. Occupied by the Ostrogoth and the Merovingian, the city lost its importance and was sacked in the grip of Provence by Charles Martel.

The Middle-Age :
Marseille regain importance from 1000, thanks to its port which serves as the starting point for the Crusades. In 1423, the city was destroyed by the Catalans, this date marks the beginning of a long decline. The Renaissance :
Marseille is transformed into a fortress but regain its prestige XVIIth to XVIIIth century thanks to the expansion of trade, the port of Marseille is one of the largest in the Mediterranean and is enriched through the triangular trade with Africa and the Americas, slave trade and tropical products are the wealth of Marseille.

From XIXth to today : In the nineteenth and beginning of the XXth century, the city is growing strongly thanks to the ever flourishing maritime trade. From 1950, Marseille suffering from economic difficulties. The city welcomes tens of thousands of feet blacks fleeing Algeria in 1962.

Today, the city has seen its number of tourists increased since the last 10 years through numerous work from both sides of the city allowing the city to regain its international status.

Introduction

Hi there,

This is the first post of my blog. First of all, i would like to introduce myself. My name is Hadrien Di Cristo, I'm 20 years old and I'm an Erasmus student at the University West of Scotland. For this semester, I have to create a blog and I decided to do it on my hometown, which is Marseille. Through my blog, i hope you to discover the characteristics of my lovely city and places that make Marseille one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.