Olympique de Marseille recently elected Stéphane Richard as their new president. The Frenchman replaced Pablo Longoria and was presented to the press at the end of last week.
During that press conference, attended by Get French Football News, Richard admitted that Marseille were “at a crossroads”, with one of his key aims being to mend the relationship with the club’s supporters. “The supporters are an essential part of the club. There is frustration, even a form of disengagement. My goal is to rebuild that connection and bring people back together,” he said.
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However, his more major focus is to herald a period of stability and consistency, two words not really associated with OM, certainly not in recent times. Key to that will be repeated qualification for the UEFA Champions League. Amid the financial crisis gripping French football, the money from UCL qualification is crucial to the running of the club.
For Richard, this should be the minimum requirement. “In the medium term, Marseille have absolutely everything to be one of Europe’s top 20 clubs and therefore should be playing in the Champions League every year,” Richard told RTL. Currently fourth, one point behind Lille OSC in third but just two points ahead of AS Monaco in seventh, qualification for next season’s UCL hangs in the balance.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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