A European semi-final at home cannot be like the others in Marseille, even if we are only talking about the Europa League conference. Barely got off the train, it didn’t take more than a few minutes, this Thursday, May 5, to understand that this day was going to be special. Already the sky and white jerseys were flocking to the belvedere of the Saint-Charles station.
Among them, Lucas, a 13-year-old schoolboy, who came from Normandy with his father: “We put a word in the liaison book, we wrote ‘travel’. He misses two days of class but it’s the end of the year and he was serious, so he is rewarded. This is the first time in his life, for his 13th birthday”explains the father. “I couldn’t dream of a better gift”savors the kid, impatient to discover the city of Marseille on his electric scooter.
A few cables further, in front of the OM store on the Canebière, other expatriate Marseillais prepare their outfit for the evening. Léo and Elisa, 20, arrive from Amiens: “My last match at Vél’ was the C3 semi-final against Salzburg in 2018. Since then it has been complicated with the Covid, but I couldn’t miss this semi-final”justifies the young alternating, who took leave to be there.
Inside the shop, large Dutch silhouettes wander around, camera in hand. Daniel and his friends landed the same morning in Marignane: “We go through the shop just to look, we don’t come to buy anything promised. We’ll go to the fan zone then, we heard that there had been fights, for now, we’re fine.”
Several brawls have indeed opposed supporters of the two teams on Wednesday evening in some neighborhoods. Twenty people were arrested. “It doesn’t look very safe for us. Friends fought and went to the hospital. We are quite worried”, explains Jordi, a Dutch supporter. Other clashes took place on Thursday.
“We find it a bit unfair because in Rotterdam, the Marseillais could walk around alone, quiet”, continues Jordy. Placed in the Marseille stands this evening, he and his brother preferred to be far-sighted: “We have OM jerseys, to blend in with the decor. And we will speak Spanish, not Dutch.”
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On the terrace of the Brasserie OM, it’s already game time. With a jersey on their backs, Fabien and Gaël enjoy the sun. “We’ve been coming to the Brasserie all the time for 20 years, because it’s well placed and it sets the tone for the day”explain the two 49-year-old Orleans residents. “We are bosses, so we gave ourselves a day off to come to our football city. It’s easier. It feels good to find the atmosphere of Marseille”appreciates Fabien, subscriber to the Vélodrome from 1991 to 1996.
Meanwhile, several CRS are finishing their lunch break. A waiter offers them a whiskey “to gather strength for the day”. They refuse. On each bank, Feyenoord supporters take advantage of the terraces and Marseille drinks, even if many are on beer. The police ask them to take over the direction of the fan zone, to the chagrin of local merchants. “The police made us stop the service at 12:30 p.m.”, we curse on the side of Loch Ness, a pub on Cours Jean-Ballard.
The atmosphere is much calmer today on the Old Port.
Feyenoord supporters sunbathe on the Samaritaine terrace. #OMFEY pic.twitter.com/WCAKNDQtoJ
— Adrien Hemard-Dohain (@AdrienHemard) May 5, 2022
Feyenoord worshipers pile into city buses, requisitioned to shuttle to Prado beach. There, big basses of electro music resonate, transforming the place into a real ephemeral festival. Food trucks, flowing beer, special currency: the 5,000 Feyenoord supporters could feel at home. Then again: they get back on the buses to go to the visitor parking lot at the Vélodrome stadium.
Not sure they came for the football after all. #OMFEY pic.twitter.com/RqpQsAF4ao
— Adrien Hemard-Dohain (@AdrienHemard) May 5, 2022
At the end of the afternoon, a storm suddenly hit Marseille. On Boulevard Michelet, usually crowded before matches, Marseille fans take shelter where they can. Piled up on the terrace, under bus shelters or in the shopping center, they give voice. The rain obscures the view, but the songs fuse everywhere, under the lime trees.
Refugees in the Prado shopping center because of the storm, the Marseille supporters are warming up. #OMFEY@francetvsport @franceinfo pic.twitter.com/oEQg7BmNLB
— Adrien Hemard-Dohain (@AdrienHemard) May 5, 2022
Sheltered under one of the bus shelters, Gilles and his friends from Toulouse take their troubles patiently. “It’s a special day, too bad for the rain. As long as we win, everything will be fine”, positive the Occitans, who will hit the road again in the night. To reassure themselves, they evoke a happy memory: “We were there for the semi-final against Newcastle in 2004, provided we vibrate as much tonight”.
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The rain calms down for a few moments, the time to see the president of Olympique de Marseille, Pablo Longoria, walking into the arena, probably also trapped by the monster traffic jams around the Vélodrome. At 7 p.m., the gates of the stadium finally open. The Marseille supporters quickly come to take shelter there, ready to set fire to get the final.
Deafening, the Vélodrome doesn’t wait for the players to enter to get carried away. But when they arrive, it literally bursts into flames. Unhappy with UEFA’s decision to close the North bend after the incidents against PAOK, the South bend responds with the explicit ‘UEFA Mafia’ tifo, followed by a cracking of smoke bombs the likes of which Marseille have rarely seen. The smoke will take 20 minutes to disperse, accompanied by the remains of tear gas, which makes the atmosphere unbreathable.
The Vélodrome had a message to convey. #OMFEY@francetvsport @franceinfo pic.twitter.com/V2F34MLapy
— Adrien Hemard-Dohain (@AdrienHemard) May 5, 2022
Meanwhile, the 52,000 Marseillais are standing. Chants ring out, and every ball recovery is celebrated. The intensity on the pitch is nothing compared to that in the stands. The Velodrome is a volcano, facing relatively discreet visitor parking. But suddenly, the Marseille fire goes out: Dimitri Payet is on the ground. Touched, the Reunionese comes out on injury half an hour into the game. The public gives him an ovation.
White-hot, the Vélodrome continues to grow, relentlessly. It is not uncommon to see the side stands following the songs of the South bend, jumping, screaming. When the Feyenoord supporters wake up at game time, and push the police to bring out the tear gas, the smoke bombs crackle again and the Vél ‘rumbles.
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But the closer the end of the match approaches, the more the hands raised to sing end up taking the lead in the face of OM’s multiple failures. The arms end along the body, dangling, after the final whistle. Until the end, the Vélodrome believed in it. But in the end, it is the Feyenoord supporters who celebrate.
At the height all day in its streets then in its stadium, Marseille was not on the lawn. However, that is unfortunately all that counted to make this day historic. At 11 p.m., everything was calm in the Old Port.