“We did it Baz!” : Basile Boli reveals the first words of Raymond Goethals after the victory of OM in 1993

There are goals that score more than others in a football career. And undeniably, for Basile Boli, the one registered on May 26, 1993 against AC Milan in the Champions League final sits among the strongest memories of his rich career. Special guest of the show Europe 1 Sport (every evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. live on Europe 1), the former Marseille striker immersed himself exclusively in this match won by Olympique de Marseille, offering the first and still today the only Champions League at a French club.

That evening in the spring of 1993, OM played their first C1 final in a crowded Olympic Stadium in Munich. Faced with the largely favorite Milanese, the Marseillais, carried by a charismatic president and determined to win in the person of Bernard Tapie, fully play their luck. “He made us understand that we could beat anyone and anytime. For me, it was an exceptional moment in my career,” said Basile Boli in Europe 1 Sport.

“So, are you going out?”

But this final could have had a completely different look. Physically diminished, the Marseille midfielder wanted to leave prematurely during this final: “At the 10th minute, where I don’t feel well and I grit my teeth until the 34th minute, I say that I want to leave. But Rudy Völler comes next to me and says no, don’t go out. Then it’s coach Raymond Goethals who tells me not to go out, “said Basile Boli. A tactical choice that ultimately pays off since a few minutes later, “there is the corner and then I score the goal”.

After this goal, the one who was nicknamed “the Red Wall” during his stay in Japan, is remobilized. In the locker room, the president of OM Bernard Tapie comes to see him and says to him: “So, are you going out?” “Of course, I said I was going to grit my teeth. And then I finish the 45 minutes,” continued Basile Boli. A lifetime reward for the midfielder who then beat “the best team of the time.” “I’m proud of it. There, we beat the most beautiful team that has been European champion before”, he was then moved.

“Effervescence”

At the final whistle, the excitement took hold of the stands. Basile Boli remembers observing his Belgian coach Raymond Goethals: “Just after the match, there was a blank. He goes back to sitting on the bench. I’m going to join him and he has only one word to say to me: ‘We did it Baz’. He had lived his whole career for this European Cup. Raymond was an exceptional coach because he had the words. He had the intelligence to be able to manage Bernard Tapie because it was a huge pressure to be able to instil in his players the importance of this competition which is the Champions League, the European Cup”, recalled the striker of the 1993 final.

But this victory was above all allowed by the Marseille collective, like the relationship that Basile Boli had with Fabien Barthez: “He was my spoilt. He was a little genius who we had the impression that he did not concentrate. Then at the same time, he gave off a sympathy, a desire to surpass himself in the big moments. He had exceptional qualities, “explained the midfielder. Another teammate, Marcel Desailly, “he was the rock, he was my spoiled too. For me he was a little brother, I protected him. I taught him to dress. I gave him exceptional confidence. He had enormous qualities”, praised the guest ofEurope 1 Sport.

But this team would not have seen the light of day without the emblematic president of the time, Bernard Tapie, to whom Basile Boli wanted to pay tribute: “He had an ambition which led him to ensure that we, too, were bathed in this European Cup. I say thank you to his family and thank you to Bernard Tapie”, he concluded in the sports program of Europe 1.