Olympique de Marseille: Titans of French Football

Athletic Club are heading to France, where they’ll face Ligue 1 giants Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday 9 August at 17:30 CEST.

Marseille will compete in the 2026/27 Europa League after finishing fifth in French top-flight last term. The fixture represents a step up in level for Edin Terzić side as they get ready to face a European-level outfit for the first time this pre-season.

What’s more, OM’s situation is similar to Athletic’s in that they also have a new coach in the form of Bruno Génésio, who joined the club from OSC Lille this summer.

It’s also Athletic’s first warm-up fixture away from Bizkaia and the north of Spain after clashes with CD Derio (0-3 win), SD Leioa (0-11 win), Sestao River (0-3 win), SD Eibar (2-2), Racing Santander (0-3 win) and Burgos CF (0-3 win).

Les Olympiens and Los Leones are no strangers to each other, with their four previous meeting coming over two memorable knockout ties in the Europa League’s 2015/16 and 2017/18 editions.
 

Under new management, Bruno Génésio

OM started the 2025/26 campaign with Roberto De Zerbi in the hot seat, but the Italian was replaced by Habib Beye in February. However, Beye, who guided Marseille to a fifth-placed finish, has now made way for Génésio.

Les Olympiens have signed defender Facundo Medina from RC Lens and winger Timothy Weah from Juventus, whilst Mason Greenwood has gone to Fenerbahçe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Deportivo A Coruña, and Bilal Nadir has signed for Hamburger SV on a free transfer.

Marseille’s squad contains a host of international talents such as Gerónimo Rulli (Argentina), Emerson Palmieri (Italy), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Denmark), Geoffrey Kondogbia (Central African Republic), Angel Gomes (England), Amine Gouiri (Algeria) and many others.
 

Pre-season so far

Génésio’s side have played three warm-up clashes before Athletic’s visit: a 0-3 victory against Ivorian outfit Yamoussoukro FC in Abidjan, a 0-3 loss to OGC Nice, a 2-1 win against Nîmes Olympique, and a 3-0 win over Qatari side Al-Shahania SC in the Netherlands.
 

France’s first European Champions

Initially formed as Football Club de Marseille in 1897, the club became Olympique de Marseille in 1899. The ‘Olympique’ part of their name is a nod to the Phocaean Greeks that founded the city.

OM’s first recorded football match, which took place in January 1900, was a 4-0 friendly loss against Union Sportive Phocéenne.

With a total of 29 trophies in the cabinet, Marseille are the second most decorated club in the history of French football, only behind eternal rivals Paris Saint Germain.

The French side’s honours include one Champions League, 11 top-flight titles, ten Coupes de France, three Coupes de France, one UEFA Intertoto Cup and others.

Marseille have played a total of 44 seasons in European football since first qualifying for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1962/63. In addition to their 1992/93 UCL triumph, when they became the first French team to win the competition, they also finished runners up in 1990/91.

What’s more, they’ve been losing finalists in the UEFA Cup/Europa League on three occasions: 1998/99, 2003/04 and 2017/18.
 

Previous meetings

The two sides first met in the 2015/16 Europa League round of 32. Athletic were 0-1 victors in the first leg in Marseille, where Aritz Aduriz scored a sensational volley in the 54th minute. 

Los Leones then secured a place in the next round with a 1-1 second-leg draw at San Mames. Michy Batshuayi netted for OM in the 40th minute before Sabin Merino sealed the deal with an 81st-minute strike.

Both teams locked horns again in the same competition in 2017/18, this time meeting in the last 16. Athletic fell to a 3-1 defeat in Marseille and then lost 1-2 in Bilbao.
 

Stade Vélodrome

OM’s home is the second largest stadium in France, behind Paris’ Stade de France, and has a capacity of 67,400 spectators.

The venue has been Marseille’s home ground since it was opened in 1937. The Vélodrome has undergone several renovations, the most recent of which took place between 2011 to 2014.
 

Marseille, the Phocaean city

France’s second largest city, Marseille was founded as Massilia by Greek settlers from Phocaea (located in modern-day Turkey) around 600 BC.

Marseille is one of Europe’s major port cities and has a population of 886,000 inhabitants. The Marseillais are known for their passion, pride and distinct accent, which is heavily influenced by Provençal, a variety of the Occitan language spoken in the region.