29 May 1991 - Red Star Rises Over Europe

On 29 May 1991, Red Star Belgrade won their first major European trophy, beating Marseille on penalties in the European Cup final.

It was the first time in the final for both teams, who reached it by virtue of their prolific offenses. Marseille forward and captain Jean-Pierre Papin was the tournament's leading scorer with six goals, while midfielder Phillippe Vercruysse, with five, was a substitute for the final. Red Star, meanwhile, relied primarily on the pairing of striker Darko Pančev (5 goals) and midfielder Robert Prosinečki (4).

It was the defenses, however, who shined in the final, held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari. A crowd of 58,000 watched as both teams struggled to create chances against each other and played to a scoreless draw through extra time.

Red Star went first in the ensuing penalty shootout, with Prosinečki scoring the opening goal. Right back Manuel Amoros then stepped up to take Marseille's first attempt. He tried sending the ball to the right of keeper Stevan Stojanović, but Stojanović guessed correctly and knocked it away. That turned out to be the decisive stop, as the players for both sides all converted their next attempts until Red Star's final shot, taken by Pančev, secured the win, 0-0 (5-3).

It remains Red Star's only appearance in the final, though they went on to win the Intercontinental Cup later that year, beating Colo Colo 3-0. Marseille returned to the final in 1993 and beat Milan 1-0.

26 May 1993 - I Hope They Enjoyed It While It Lasted

On 26 May 1993, Marseille won the Champions League trophy, but they were not allowed to defend it the following season.

Under the auspices of club president Bernard Tapie, Marseille rose to elite status in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles from 1989 to 1992. They also reached the European Cup final in 1991, but lost to Red Star Belgrade in a penalty shootout, 0-0 (5-3).

After a disappointing second-round exit from the tournament in 1991-92, they returned to the final in 1993, where they met four-time champions AC Milan in Munich. Although the game featured three of the tournament's four top scorers--Marco van Basten for Milan and Franck Sauzée and Alen Bokšić for Marseille--an unheralded player scored the day's only goal, as Marseille center back Basile Boli found the back of the net in the 43rd minute. They remain the only French club to win the competition.

French authorities subsequently found Tapie and Marseille guilty of match-fixing during the 1992-93 Ligue 1 season. As a result, they were stripped of their 1993 league title and demoted to Ligue 2 for the next season. They were allowed to keep their Champions League trophy, but were barred from participating in the 1993-94 tournament.

24 May 1966 - Long Live The King

On 24 May 1966, forward Eric Cantona was born in Marseille. He went on to become one of Manchester United's greatest and most iconic players.

He made his professional debut in November 1983 with Auxerre. He got off to a slow start, including a loan spell and a break for national service, but began to show signs of his future prowess in his last two seasons there, scoring  25 goals in 79 appearances. That led to a high-priced move to Marseille in 1988, followed by short spells with Nîmes (1991) and Leeds United (1992).

Manchester United came calling in 1992, signing him for £1.2M. He scored only 9 times in that first season, but was instrumental in helping United claim the inaugural Premier League title, their first league championship since 1967. The following season, he delivered 25 goals across all competitions as United claimed a league and FA Cup double, earning the nickname "King Eric" from United's supporters.

Before he retired in 1997, he added another Double (1996) and a fourth league title (1997). But his time at Old Trafford was not free from controversy. One of the most notable incidents occurred in January 1995, during an away match against Crystal Palace, when he leapt into the stands to kick one of the home supporters. He received a suspension for the rest of the season and a fine of £20,000, plus a sentence of 120 hours of community service.

Since his retirement, he has spent time acting and, most recently, joined the revived New York Cosmos as Director of Soccer.

11 March 1978 - The Coming Of Didier

On 11 March 1978, Didier Drogba was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He went on to become one of the world's dominant strikers.

Growing up, he spent many years living in France and it was there he started his professional career, joining the youth program at Levallois in 1996, then moving to Le Mans in 1997. In 1998, he signed a professional contract with Le Mans and played there for three and a half years, scoring a total of only 15 goals in 75 appearances before moving to Guingamp for £80,000 in the winter transfer window.

The move sparked his career. In his first full season there, he scored 21 goals, attracting the interest of Marseille who signed him for £3.3M in the summer 2003. After only one remarkable season at Marseille, in which he scored 32 goals across all competitions and was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, he moved again, this time to Chelsea who paid £24M.

In eight seasons with Chelsea, he scored 157 goals in 341 appearances, making him the fourth-highest goalscorer in club history. He also collected a massive haul of silverware, including three league titles, four FA Cups, and one Champions League trophy.

Along the way, he also captained the Côte d'Ivoire national team and is their all-time leading scorer with 60 goals in 95 appearances.

After leaving Chelsea at the end of his contract in 2012, he spent a year with Shanghai Shenhua and currently plays for Galatasaray.

28 February 2010 - The City Of Fights (Again)

On 28 February 2010, rival groups of PSG supporters turned violent during a match against Marseille, resulting in twenty arrests and one fatality.

PSG hosted the Ligue 1 match looking for some redemption, having already lost at Marseille earlier in the season. But Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa was the first to score, driving the ball home in the 15th minute. The game remained close into the second half, but the visitors got additional goals from Lucho González (54') and Benoît Cheyrou (71') to finish the day at 0-3.

The day was even uglier for PSG in the stands and outside the Parc des Princes, where rival supporter groups the Boulogne Boys and Supras Auteuil clashed before, during, and after the game. The police used tear gas to help quell the riot and ended up arresting twenty people. Several people sustained minor injuries, but one, a 38-year old man identified only as "Yann L," suffered a serious head injury that put him into a coma. He died about two weeks later.

PSG condemned the actions and decided not to sell tickets for their away matches for the remainder of the season.

18 February 1973 - The Role Came A Little Bit Later

On 18 February 1973, Claude Makélélé, who redefined the modern defensive midfielder position, was born in Kinshasa, Zaire.

He moved to France when he was four and spent the first several years of his career there, first with Stade Brestois (1990-91), then with Nantes (1991-97) and later Marseille (1997-98). In 1998, he left for Spain, playing two seasons for Celta de Vigo and three for Real Madrid.

At Madrid, he was an integral member of the Galacticos side assembled by club president Florentino Pérez, including Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, and Roberto Carlos. Although not regarded as highly (or paid as much) as some of the others, Makélélé drove the side by operating less like a traditional defensive midfielder and more like a deep-lying playmaker.

When he left for Chelsea in 2003, a bitter Pérez tried to minimize the loss, downplaying Makélélé's contribution to the team. But after winning two league titles (and the Champions League) with him, Real Madrid did not win La Liga again until 2007.

Makélélé, meanwhile, flourished at Chelsea, winning two league titles and one FA Cup before moving back to France in 2008, joining Paris Saint-Germain. He ended his career there, retiring in 2011, and currently serves the club as an assistant coach.

8 January 1978 - A Revolution In Paris

On 8 January 1978, Paris Saint-Germain turned the tide in their budding rivalry with Marseille. And they did it by a record margin.

While the contest, known as Le Classique or the Derby de France, has become one of the country's most heated rivalries, it started as a very one-sided affair. First played in 1971, Marseille won the first three in a row and seven of the first eleven while losing only once (a 2-0 loss in the Coupe de France in March 1975). By the time Marseille arrived at the Parc des Princes in January for the twelfth match of the series, they had taken three of the last four.

Playing in front of a crowd of 33,386, the visitors looked to continue their run of success, going ahead with a 12th-minute penalty from striker Sarr Boubacar. But PSG rallied to take a 2-1 lead into the break with goals from François Brisson (29') and Mustapha Dahleb (44').

In the second half, an own-goal from Marseille defender Marius Trésor (46') extended PSG's lead to 3-1, then a brace from striker François M'Pelé (pictured) (49', 82') took it to 5-1. The four-goal margin was the largest win of the derby and remains the record, though it was later matched by Marseille's 4-0 win in November 1986.

Since then, the rivalry has been relatively balanced across all competitions, with a total of 27 PSG wins to 32 for Marseille.