Marseille remain the only French side to have won the Champions League. By Wednesday, they could become the first to exit the prestigious competition this season.
While Monaco and Lyon top their respective groups, 1993 Champions League winner Marseille are in third place in Group F ahead of Wednesday’s visit of nine-time European champion Real Madrid.
Marseille must beat Real and hope Porto do not win at home against Partizan Belgrade to stay in the competition. Star-studded Real are already qualified for the knockout stage.
Any hopes that 29-time Spanish champion Real would take it easy and field an understrength reserve team seem unlikely.
Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Ronaldo and Raul could all be selected by coach Carlos Queiroz. Marseille’s fans at the 60 000 Stade Velodrome will doubtless be delighted to see Zidane return to his home town, but not so happy that he could help end their slim hopes of qualification.
Zidane has been in good form this season and scored his third league goal of the season this weekend as Real beat Albacete 2-1 and claimed top spot. Beckham scored Real’s other with a splendid strike, while Ronaldo was left on the bench.
”We are starting a cycle of nine matches in 28 days,” Queiroz told Spanish newspaper Marca. ”I decided that Ronaldo should not play at the beginning to save him for the Marseille match.”
A rested Ronaldo is the last thing Marseille need.
Ronaldo scored his 50th goal for Brazil last week in a 3-3 tie with Uruguay and currently leads the Spanish scoring charts with nine league goals. The 27-year-old totals 40 goals in 57 appearances since joining Real following Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win.
Such statistics will do little to reassure a Marseille defence, which has twice allowed four goals this season — against Strasbourg and Lyon.
Marseille, which beat Lille 2-0 away on Saturday, sit third in the French top flight, six points behind leader Monaco.
Marseille’s chances of remaining in the Champions League hinge largely on the ability of central defenders Daniel Van Buyten and Philippe Christanval to shut out Ronaldo and Raul.
Raul is the Champions League all-time record scorer with 44 goals in 82 matches since 1995. Such is the 26-year-old’s value to Real that a clause in his contract states any club wishing to buy him before his contract expires in 2005 must pay $224,5-million.
However, Real’s weak point remains their defence and Marseille will look to Didier Drogba to exploit an inconsistent rearguard.
Côte d’Ivoire striker Drogba has scored five times in the Champions League so far.
Meanwhile, Dmitry Sytchev has shaken off a hip problem and returns to Marseille’s squad, and Brazil defender Roberto Carlos has been cleared to play by team doctors after recovering from a thigh strain.
However, Real still have doubts over Portugal midfielder Luis Figo, who has an ankle problem, and defender Francisco Pavon has pulled out with a leg muscle problem. He has been replaced in the squad by untried reserve Alvaro Mejia. — Sapa-AP