"They must have been bittersweet words for the French president, an ardent Marseille fan. For 32 years, Marseille teased their fiercest rivals. A jamais les premiers, for ever the first, they would say, a reference to their controversial Champions League triumph in 1993. Marseille will always be the first, but they are no longer the only French side to have stood on the roof of Europe."
"The two triumphs share little resemblance, despite both finals taking place in Munich, and both featuring opponents from Milan. Marseille's victory, marred by the subsequent revelation of domestic match-fixing was, rather ironically, seen as the product of a drive to heighten competition in the French league. PSG's win, in contrast, was facilitated by the absence of it."
"Being bored alone at the top of the league, according to Bernard Tapie, the former Marseille president, was at the heart of the genesis of the match that would come to be known as Le Classique. With Bordeaux's powers waning in the early 1990s, Tapie's team were untouchable, much as PSG are today, winning four leagues in a row between 1989 and 1992."
Paris Saint-Germain secured the Champions League, making them the second French club to win Europe's premier competition after Marseille in 1993. Marseille's 1993 triumph was controversial and later linked to domestic match-fixing, and it was viewed as a consequence of efforts to increase competition in the French league. PSG's recent victory arose in contrast from a lack of domestic competition as the club dominated Ligue 1. Bernard Tapie credited the Canal+ takeover of PSG in 1991 with challenging Marseille's earlier hegemony and helping drive Marseille toward European success. Canal+ benefited commercially from heightened interest in the league, and the rivalry intensified into Le Classique.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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