2007–08 Olympique de Marseille season

Olympique de Marseille extended their titleless run to 15 years – but had a decent season, where they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the second year running, and won away from home in the 2007–08 tournament at Anfield against 2007 finalists Liverpool, but a 4–0 defeat at Stade Vélodrome in the last round knocked OM out of the tournament. Having sold Franck Ribéry to Bayern Munich for around 30 million euros, the stage was set for Marseille to push the boundaries financially in the coming seasons, with investments in the playing squad long overdue for a club that had been known as a club selling players expensively rather than buying.

Marseille

2007–08 season
Chairman	Robert Louis-Dreyfus
Manager	Albert Emon Eric Gerets
Ligue 1	3rd
Coupe de France	Round of 16
Coupe de la Ligue	Quarter-finals
Champions League	Group stage
UEFA Cup	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Mamadou Niang (18 goals) All: Mamadou Niang (23 goals)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Squad

As of February 1, 2008.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	FRA	Cédric Carrasso
2	MF	CIV	Kanga Akalé (on loan from Lens)
3	DF	NGA	Taye Taiwo
4	DF	FRA	Julien Rodríguez
5	DF	FRA	Jacques Faty
6	MF	ALG	Karim Ziani
7	MF	FRA	Benoît Cheyrou
9	FW	FRA	Djibril Cissé
10	MF	NED	Boudewijn Zenden
11	FW	SEN	Mamadou Niang
12	MF	BFA	Charles Kaboré
14	DF	SEN	Leyti N'Diaye
15	DF	FRA	Ronald Zubar
16	GK	FRA	Sébastien Hamel

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	MF	CMR	Modeste M'bami
18	FW	FRA	Elliot Grandin
19	MF	ALB	Lorik Cana (captain)
21	MF	SRB	Miloš Krstić
22	MF	FRA	Samir Nasri
23	DF	ARG	Juan Ángel Krupoviesa (on loan from Boca Juniors)
24	DF	FRA	Laurent Bonnart
26	DF	FRA	Jean-Philippe Sabo
27	DF	SEN	Pape M'Bow
28	MF	FRA	Mathieu Valbuena
29	FW	GHA	André Ayew
30	GK	FRA	Steve Mandanda
32	DF	FRA	Gaël Givet
40	GK	FRA	Sébastien Maté

Transfers

In: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	DF	ARG	Juan Krupoviesa (on loan from Boca Juniors)
7	MF	FRA	Benoît Cheyrou (from Auxerre)
10	MF	NED	Boudewijn Zenden (from Liverpool)
9	FW	FRA	Djibril Cisse (from Liverpool)
5	DF	FRA	Jacques Faty (from Rennes)
32	DF	FRA	Gaël Givet (from Monaco)

Out: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	FRA	Mickaël Pagis (to Rennes)
—	FW	SEN	Rahmane Barry (to Sedan)
20	DF	CMR	Salomon Olembe (to Wigan Athletic)
7	MF	FRA	Franck Ribéry (to Bayern Munich)
23	DF	SEN	Habib Beye (to Newcastle United)
—	FW	FRA	Fabrice Fiorèse (to Amiens)

Competitions

Ligue 1

Main article: 2007–08 Ligue 1

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Lyon (C)	38	24	7	7	74	37	+37	79	Qualification to Champions League group stage
2	Bordeaux	38	22	9	7	65	38	+27	75
3	Marseille	38	17	11	10	58	45	+13	62	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
4	Nancy	38	15	15	8	44	30	+14	60	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
5	Saint-Étienne	38	16	10	12	47	34	+13	58

Source: Ligue 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	17	11	10	58	45	+13	62	11	3	5	34	21	+13	6	8	5	24	24	0

Source: LFP.fr

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	D	D	L	D	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	L	D	W	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	D	W
Position	14	13	15	14	11	15	16	16	17	18	18	19	19	17	15	16	13	14	11	13	10	11	9	5	4	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	3

Source: LFP.fr
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Strasbourg v Marseille

4 August 2007 1	Strasbourg	0–0	Marseille	Strasbourg
17:10				Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Attendance: 26,397 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

Marseille v Rennes

11 August 2007 2	Marseille	0–0	Rennes	Marseille
20:00				Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,896 Referee: Philippe Kalt

Valenciennes v Marseille

15 August 2007 3	Valenciennes	2–1	Marseille	Valenciennes
18:30	Savidan 62', 87'		Ziani 57'	Stadium: Stade Nungesser Attendance: 16,028 Referee: Alain Hamer

Marseille v Nancy

19 August 2007 4	Marseille	2–2	Nancy	Marseille
21:00	Niang 22' Cissé 50'		Gavanon 64' (pen.) Hadji 80'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,732 Referee: Olivier Thual

Caen v Marseille

25 August 2007 5	Caen	1–2	Marseille	Caen
17:10	Samson 90+2'		Rodriguez 43' Niang 54'	Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano Attendance: 20,790 Referee: Thierry Auriac

Marseille v Nice

29 August 2007 6	Marseille	0–2	Nice	Marseille
18:30			Hognon 51' Hellebuyck 87'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Saïd Ennjimi

Paris Saint-Germain v Marseille

2 September 2007 7	Paris Saint-Germain	1–1	Marseille	Paris
18:00	Luyindula 20'		Cissé 11'	Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 43,179 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

Marseille v Toulouse

15 September 2007 8	Marseille	1–2	Toulouse	Marseille
17:10	Zubar 90'		Emana 11' Elmander 37'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 53,650 Referee: Jean-Charles Cailleux

Auxerre v Marseille

22 September 2007 9	Auxerre	2–0	Marseille	Auxerre
17:10	Niculae 19', 23'			Stadium: Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps Attendance: 18,150 Referee: Lionel Jaffredo

Saint-Étienne v Marseille

6 October 2007 10	Saint-Étienne	1–0	Marseille	Saint-Étienne
17:10	Dernis 90'			Stadium: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Attendance: 32,004 Referee: Thierry Auriac

Marseille v Lens

21 October 2007 11	Marseille	1–0	Lens	Marseille
21:00	Zenden 74'			Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 49,245 Referee: Stéphane Bré

Sochaux v Marseille

27 October 2007 12	Sochaux	2–1	Marseille	Montbéliard
20:00	Zubar 31' (o.g.) Bonnart 52' (o.g.)		Niang 9'	Stadium: Stade Auguste Bonal Attendance: 19,957 Referee: Saïd Ennjimi

Marseille v Lorient

3 November 2007 13	Marseille	0–0	Lorient	Marseille
20:00				Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 51,864 Referee: Olivier Thual

Lyon v Marseille

11 November 2007 14	Lyon	1–2	Marseille	Lyon
21:00	Juninho 7'		Niang 10' (pen.), 45'	Stadium: Stade de Gerland Attendance: 38,811 Referee: Bertrand Layec

Marseille v Metz

24 November 2007 15	Marseille	3–1	Metz	Marseille
20:00	Zenden 20' Niang 36', 70'		Gueye 88'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 48,035 Referee: Lionel Jaffredo

Lille v Marseille

1 December 2007 16	Lille	1–1	Marseille	Villeneuve-d'Ascq
20:00	Kluivert 27'		Niang 32'	Stadium: Stadium Lille-Metropole Attendance: 17,618 Referee: Philippe Kalt

Marseille v Monaco

8 December 2007 17	Marseille	2–0	Monaco	Marseille
17:10	Rodriguez 52' Cana 69'			Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 50,150 Referee: Damien Ledentu

Bordeaux v Marseille

16 December 2007 18	Bordeaux	2–2	Marseille	Bordeaux
20:55	Chamakh 32' Jussiê 69'		Niang 2' Cheyrou 26'	Stadium: Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 32,286 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

Marseille v Le Mans

22 December 2007 19	Marseille	1–0	Le Mans	Marseille
20:00	Niang 14'			Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 40,886 Referee: Philippe Malige

Rennes v Marseille

13 January 2008 20	Rennes	3–1	Marseille	Rennes
20:55	Pagis 39' Wiltord 82', 88'		Cissé 16'	Stadium: Stade de la Route de Lorient Attendance: 29,278 Referee: Bruno Coué

Marseille v Valenciennes

19 January 2008 21	Marseille	3–1	Valenciennes	Marseille
20:00	Cissé 27', 73' Rodriguez 51'		Audel 81'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 48,152 Referee: Tony Chapron

Nancy v Marseille

23 January 2008 22	Nancy	1–1	Marseille	Tomblaine
20:45	Brison 48'		Nasri 87'	Stadium: Stade Marcel Picot Attendance: 19,901 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

Marseille v Caen

26 January 2008 23	Marseille	6–1	Caen	Marseille
20:00	Cissé 28', 55', 57' Valbuena 41', 44' Nasri 81'		Toudic 2'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 48,481 Referee: Stéphane Moulin

Nice v Marseille

10 February 2008 24	Nice	0–2	Marseille	Nice
20:55			Niang 25' Cissé 76'	Stadium: Stade du Ray Attendance: 15,884 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain

17 February 2008 25	Marseille	2–1	Paris Saint-Germain	Marseille
20:55	Taiwo 37' Niang 45'		Rothen 29'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 56,863 Referee: Bertrand Layec

Toulouse v Marseille

24 February 2008 26	Toulouse	0–0	Marseille	Toulouse
19:00				Stadium: Stadium de Toulouse Attendance: 34,502 Referee: Lionel Jaffredo

Marseille v Auxerre

1 March 2008 27	Marseille	2–1	Auxerre	Marseille
20:00	Cana 8' Cissé 22'		Pedretti 89'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 53,100 Referee: Bruno Ruffray

Marseille v Saint-Étienne

9 March 2008 28	Marseille	2–0	Saint-Étienne	Marseille
18:00	Valbuena 59' Taiwo 66'			Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 53,565 Referee: Fredy Fautrel

Lens v Marseille

16 March 2008 29	Lens	3–3	Marseille	Lens
20:55	Maoulida 56' Mangane 65' Rémy 73'		Nasri 24' Cheyrou 29' Cissé 89'	Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert Attendance: 40,477 Referee: Éric Poulat

Marseille v Sochaux

22 March 2008 30	Marseille	0–1	Sochaux	Marseille
20:00			N'Daw 3'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 51,435 Referee: Thierry Auriac

Lorient v Marseille

30 March 2008 31	Lorient	1–2	Marseille	Lorient
20:55	Saïfi 43' (pen.)		Akalé 53' Niang 80'	Stadium: Stade du Moustoir Attendance: 15,436 Referee: Antony Gautier

Marseille v Lyon

6 April 2008 32	Marseille	3–1	Lyon	Marseille
20:55	Cissé 26' Niang 28', 54'		Cana 43' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 56,271 Referee: Fredy Fautrel

Metz v Marseille

12 April 2008 33	Metz	1–2	Marseille	Metz
20:00	Barbosa 3'		Cissé 14' Nasri 57'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 25,694 Referee: Philippe Malige

Marseille v Lille

20 April 2008 34	Marseille	1–3	Lille	Marseille
20:55	Niang 13'		Mirallas 37', 40' Makoun 67'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 51,674 Referee: Tony Chapron

Monaco v Marseille

27 April 2008 35	Monaco	2–3	Marseille	Monaco
20:55	González 56' Leko 64'		Nasri 28' Taiwo 61' Cissé 82'	Stadium: Stade Louis II Attendance: 17,368 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

Marseille v Bordeaux

4 May 2008 36	Marseille	1–2	Bordeaux	Marseille
20:55	Niang 45'		Wendel 80' Ducasse 90'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,778 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

Le Mans v Marseille

10 May 2008 37	Le Mans	0–0	Marseille	Le Mans
20:45				Stadium: Stade Léon-Bollée Attendance: 16,361 Referee: Bertrand Layec

Marseille v Strasbourg

17 May 2008 38	Marseille	4–3	Strasbourg	Marseille
20:50	Niang 7' Cissé 45+2,', 78' Nasri 45+5'		Fanchone 11' Gameiro 18' Zenke 72'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,543 Referee: Damien Ledentu

Coupe de France

Main article: 2007–08 Coupe de France

Beauvais v Marseille

5 January 2008 Round of 64	Beauvais	0–2	Marseille	Beauvais
18:15			Cana 23' Cissé 32'	Stadium: Stade Pierre Brisson Attendance: 10,465 Referee: Alain Hamer

Marseille v Monaco

3 February 2008 Round of 32	Marseille	3–1	Monaco	Marseille
21:00	Valbuena 6' Grandin 10' Cissé 62'		Bakar 70'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Éric Poulat

Carquefou v Marseille

19 March 2008 Round of 16	Carquefou	1–0	Marseille	Nantes
20:45	N'Doye 7'			Stadium: Stade de la Beaujoire Attendance: 36,883 Referee: Saïd Ennjimi

Coupe de la Ligue

Main article: 2007–08 Coupe de la Ligue

Marseille v Metz

30 October 2007 Round of 16	Marseille	2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Metz	Marseille
21:00	Niang 94' Cissé 105'		N'Diaye 96' Baldé 120'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 21,389 Referee: Philippe Kalt
	Penalties
	Niang Valbuena Ziani Cheyrou Cissé		Agouazi Pjanić N'Diaye Bong Bassong

Auxerre v Marseille

16 January 2008 Quarter-finals	Auxerre	1–0	Marseille	Auxerre
21:00	Pedretti 90+1'			Stadium: Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps Attendance: 13,006 Referee: Stéphane Bré

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2007–08 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage § Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Porto	6	3	2	1	8	7	+1	11	Advance to knockout stage
2	Liverpool	6	3	1	2	18	5	+13	10
3	Marseille	6	2	1	3	6	9	−3	7	Transfer to UEFA Cup
4	Beşiktaş	6	2	0	4	4	15	−11	6

Source: RSSSF

Marseille v Beşiktaş

18 September 2007 1	Marseille	2–0	Beşiktaş	Marseille, France
20:45	Rodriguez 76' Cissé 90+1'			Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 35,676 Referee: Matteo Trefoloni (Italy)

Liverpool v Marseille

3 October 2007 2	Liverpool	0–1	Marseille	Liverpool, England
20:45			Valbuena 77'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,355 Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)

Marseille v Porto

24 October 2007 3	Marseille	1–1	Porto	Marseille, France
20:45	Niang 70'		Lucho 79' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 46,458 Referee: Manuel Mejuto González (Spain)

Porto v Marseille

6 November 2007 4	Porto	2–1	Marseille	Porto, Portugal
20:45	Sektioui 27' Lisandro 78'		Niang 47'	Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 42,217 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Beşiktaş v Marseille

28 November 2007 5	Beşiktaş	2–1	Marseille	Istanbul, Turkey
20:45	Tello 27' Bobô 88'		Taiwo 65'	Stadium: BJK İnönü Stadium Attendance: 19,448 Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

Marseille v Liverpool

11 December 2007 6	Marseille	0–4	Liverpool	Marseille, France
20:45			Gerrard 4' Torres 11' Kuyt 48' Babel 90+1'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 53,097 Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)

UEFA Cup

Main article: 2007–08 UEFA Cup

Knockout phase

Main article: 2007–08 UEFA Cup final phase

Round of 32

Marseille v Spartak Moscow

13 February 2008 First leg	Marseille	3–0	Spartak Moscow	Marseille, France
20:45	Cheyrou 62' Taiwo 68' Niang 79'	Report		Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 31,790 Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal)

Spartak Moscow v Marseille

21 February 2008 Second leg	Spartak Moscow	2–0 (2–3 agg.)	Marseille	Moscow, Russia
17:30	Pavlenko 39' Pavlyuchenko 85'	Report		Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Round of 16

Marseille v Zenit Saint Petersburg

6 March 2008 First leg	Marseille	3–1	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Marseille, France
20:45	Cissé 37', 55' Niang 48'	Report	Arshavin 82'	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 24,327 Referee: Knut Kircher (Germany)

Zenit Saint Petersburg v Marseille

12 March 2008 Second leg	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–0 (3a–3 agg.)	Marseille	Saint Petersburg, Russia
17:30	Pogrebnyak 39', 78'	Report		Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,500 Referee: Mike Riley (England)

Sources

• – Footballsquads – Marseille 2007/2008 7
• – LFP.fr – Ligue de Football Profesionel