The statue tribute to Bernard Tapie which will soon adorn the square in front of the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille is almost ready.
When Bernard Tapie died in October 2021, his son Laurent quickly wished for his father a tribute worthy of the character he was for Marseille and its flagship club. President of loon from 1986 to 1994, “the boss” led his troops to the supreme title – the Champions League – in 1993. A feat of arms which obviously inspired the said tribute.*
To immortalize this moment of glory, a statue will soon be erected on the square in front of the Vélodrome stadium, the home of OM, with the theme of the celebration of the continental coronation of May 26, 1993 through the photography of a particular moment: the triumphant lift of Bernard Tapie on the pitch of the Vélodrome by the six emblematic players: Fabien Barthez, Basile Boli, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Eric Di Meco and Franck Sauzée.
The inauguration scheduled for May 26?
On social networks, the sculptor Joël Vergne leaked the first images of his work, and in particular the synthetic image retained before the realization of the project. The work would already be ready, but the inauguration is not yet imminent, the services of the city of Marseille having to proceed in advance with the development and reinforcement of the esplanade to accommodate the imposing monument three meters high.
The big day will be somewhere between April, if we can have a good match, or May 26 (anniversary date of the victory in C1, editor’s note), says Laurent Tapie to BFM Marseille-Provence. I validated each of the characters one after the other, the last character is my father. On this one I am still much more careful than for the others… » Some 3,000 contributors and six partner companies – including OM – helped raise the funds necessary to create this statue, valued at around 300,000 euros.
