Invited on the set of C à Vous this Thursday, September 22, Basile Boli spoke at length about his link with Bernard Tapie. The former Olympique de Marseille footballer even made exclusive revelations about the last days before the death of the famous businessman.
“Dominique Tapie and her children have the infinite pain of sharing the death of her husband and their father, Bernard Tapie, this Sunday, October 3 at 8:40 a.m., as a result of cancer. He left peacefully, surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren and brother, present at his bedside. He expressed his wish to be buried in Marseille, his city of heart.. On Sunday October 3, 2021, almost a year ago to the day, the media La Provence announced the death of businessman Bernard Tapie. He was 78 years old and left behind many bereaved.
The former president of the Olympique de Marseille football club was struggling against double cancer of the stomach and esophagus for many months. The least we can say is that the life of the famous businessman has been full of twists and turns. Owner of Adidas, Olympique de Marseille (which he brought to the roof of Europe in 1993), politician, actor, at the heart of many scandals… even if Bernard Tapie will have been decried, his existence could not have been more hectic.
Basile Boli: “Bernard Tapie has always amazed me”
A year almost to the day after his death, this Thursday, September 22, 2022, the former footballer of Olympique de Marseille and great friend of Bernard Tapie, Basile Boli, was invited on the set of the show C à Vous on France 5 to talk about the release of his book, “Mémoires d’hOMme”. When he was still president of the Marseille club, Bernard Tapie had more than sympathized with his defender, to the point that Basile Boli was part of the closest circle around the coffin when he left the church of Saint-Germain-des- Pres, during the ceremony in Paris. “Sunday morning, I left my house to go for a walk alone, cry on my side”, had notably declared the former footballer on the day of the death of his great friend.
So, facing Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine this Thursday, September 22, he logically returned for long minutes to this tragic event. But not only: Basile Boli also evoked certain memories that he has left of the businessman, who has always impressed him with his pugnacity. “It amazed me. I came from time to time, there was his daughter, who is exceptional, always by his side. When she left to get a drink or something, he started to say to me: ‘Make me an article in the team saying, I’ll still be there for four years, because they killed me four years ago’.
The L’Équipe channel mistakenly announced the death of Bernard Tapie in 2020
As a reminder, the L’Equipe channel announced the death of Bernard Tapie by mistake in August 2020before being forced to proceed with numerous live apologies. “In fact, it’s Tapie who becomes human, in the last years of his life, and who encourages a lot of people with cancer, and who gives them a will to fight. That’s what made me made sad and at the same time…”, continued Basile Boli. A moving testimony that the former defender of the France football team had never done before.
For those who only know him by name, Basile Boli was born on January 2, 1967 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Solid defender of 1.80m, the Franco-Ivorian began his career with the AJ Auxerre club in 1983, before joining the OM club in 1990. Great architect of the victory of the Marseillais in C1, he is logically called up to the France team, where he knows 45 selections. After his career, he engaged in politics for a while before returning to football as a adviser at AJ Auxerre then sports coordinator at OM. He then made television appearances.