Drogba’s Night: When Marseille Took Down Newcastle in 2004

As Olympique de Marseille prepare to welcome Newcastle United back to the Vélodrome in the UEFA Champions League, memories return of one of the stadium’s most iconic European nights. The last time these two clubs met in Marseille, in May 2004, the city shook under the weight of pure emotion, collective belief and a striker entering superstardom. That striker was Didier Drogba. 

Marseille had already eliminated Liverpool and Inter Milan on their way to the semi-final. Newcastle, led by Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer, represented another major obstacle. But just 18 minutes in, the Vélodrome erupted.

Camel Meriem led a counter-attack and slipped the ball to Didier Drogba. One feint, a burst past Aaron Hughes, and a left-footed finish across Shay Given sent Marseille into the lead.

“That dribble? I had planned it for that match," said Drogba on his feint and finish. "I actually waited for the defender to catch up so I could execute it. People think it just happens — but no, it was calculated.”

Speaking to L’Équipe, former OM man Laurent Batlles said that the striker’s inspiration was extraordinary. “The skill from Didier… it was almost something you never see. It pushed the match straight into club legend," said the former midfielder. 

The goal was Drogba’s tenth in Europe that season. He had become the symbol of OM’s entire run.

Newcastle fight back

The English side responded with force. Shearer and Shola Ameobi tested the Marseille defence, while Fabien Barthez was called into action on several occasions. At times, OM’s back line — led by Brahim Hemdani as an improvised libero — bent but never broke.

Hemdani later explained to L’Équipe that even under pressure, the team felt a sense of inevitability that night, “There was electricity everywhere; in the city, outside the stadium, inside during the warm-up. We felt nothing could stop us.”

A second moment of magic

The decisive strike came late in the second half. A free-kick from the right was curled in by Batlles. The ball fell perfectly for Drogba, who hit it first time, without controlling it. The finish was clean, instinctive, unstoppable.

Drogba revealed the backstory. “That second goal comes from something I had seen. We had tried it with Lolo Batlles in training again and again. And that night… it just came. If it’s not divine, I don’t know what it is.”

Hemdani, speaking to L’Équipe, described the moment simply. “It felt like the stadium was sitting on top of a volcano.”

Marseille were heading to their fourth European final.

A night that lives forever

Marseille fell in the final to Valencia, but the semi-final against Newcastle remains the night — the one where everything aligned: planning, instinct, atmosphere, and a striker at the absolute peak of his powers.

On Tuesday, when Newcastle walk into the Vélodrome for the first time since that legendary evening, the echoes will be impossible to ignore.

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