One of the esplanades leading to the Stade Vélodrome will now bear the name of Bernard Tapie, announced Thursday the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan in an interview with the daily La Provence. "The large esplanade that leads to the Velodrome stadium, on the Jean-Bouin side (boulevard Michelet, editor's note) will be named after Bernard Tapie. We mark in marble his name, his passage, his contribution to the history of this club, "explained the mayor various left of the city.
Read alsoBernard Tapie and Marseille: I love you, me neither.
The municipality indicated that the inauguration of this esplanade Bernard Tapie would take place "later". The announcement comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of OM's victory in the Champions League on May 26, 1993. Bernard Tapie was then the owner and president of OM, and this feat has remained to this day unique in the history of French football. A few months later, however, OM was demoted to the second division as a result of the VA-OM affair, the corruption scandal that precipitated the fall of Tapie, then imprisoned.
A statue 3 m high
In the interview with La Provence, Benoît Payan explained about this decision that it was "our duty and our responsibility to do so". "This is not about the politician or businessman, who was complex and out of the ordinary. I retain the image of the sports leader," he said. "The fans nicknamed him the Boss because he carried OM to the top of Europe. Today is in our history," he added.
Provence also indicates that Laurent Tapie, the son of the "Boss", has planned the opening of a pot Friday, supposed to finance a statue of his father wearing the cup with big ears. The emblematic president will be worn by six players from 1993 who have made history: Fabien Barthez, Basile Boli, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Éric Di Meco and Franck Sauzée. The bronze statue, more than 3 m high, must be erected on the future eponymous esplanade of the Velodrome, according to our colleagues who say that the municipality has given the green light.
Marseille will celebrate Friday the 30th anniversary of its victory in C1 with a celebration at the City Hall and a rebroadcast of the 1993 final on a giant screen. At 23 p.m., supporters also planned a massive lighting of smoke for more than 20 km along the Marseille coast. The kick-off of this "cracking" will take place at Notre-Dame de la Garde.