Romain Rouillard (comment collected by Jean-François Pérès) / Photo credit: PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP
A furious whim for immense happiness. This is how Marseille fans would describe the goal scored by Basile Boli in the 1993 Champions League final. total. However, this helmet blow could never have happened because of the persistent knee injury that Basile Boli had suffered for several weeks. Convinced by Bernard Tapie, then president of OM, the defender agrees to grit his teeth and coach Raymond Goethals aligns him in his starting XI. But after a blow received on his sore knee in the 20th minute, the person concerned demands the change. For Bernard Tapie, it’s time to intervene. The “boss” grabs his walkie-talkie and orders the staff to keep Basile Boli on the pitch.
An episode that Henri Stambouli experienced from the inside as assistant to Raymond Goethals. “I was doing the buffer. Because Jean-Pierre (Bernès, general manager of OM Nldr) received the information from the boss and wanted to pass it on to Raymond. And Raymond said to him ‘no, no, talk to him about yourself!’ So I was in the middle and it was a game of ping-pong,” says Henri Stambouli. The latter remembers with precision this moment of hesitation when Basile Boli expresses the very clear wish to return to the sidelines. “He’s not well and Raymond, maybe, wants to take him out but he doesn’t know, he hesitates. Behind there is Tapie who says ‘no, no, I don’t want him to move’ so there you go, it didn’t turn out much in the end,” he smiles.
“Marseille is a bit crazy”
This direct pressure imposed by the highest levels of the club, Henri Stambouli understands it. “He was someone who was so taken by everything he did at this club that he wanted to pass it on to the field. There are a lot of presidents like that,” he says. But according to him, Raymond Goethals would have, whatever happens, made the right choice. “Raymond also had this ability, due to his age and experience, to know when to say yes or no and to manage his site on his own”.
One thing is certain: without this direct intervention by Bernard Tapie, Basile Boli would never have shaken the nets of the Olympic stadium in Munich. It was this goal that gave OM their first European title and sparked an outpouring of joy in the streets of Marseille. Scenes of jubilation still very fresh in the mind of Henri Stambouli. “These are people who are on the electric poles (…) We say to ourselves ‘but it is not possible’. And when we arrived in this stadium which explodes… These are magical moments. The communions at this level- there are exceptional and transcend everyone. There is an energy, a madness that emerges. Because Marseille is a bit mad”.