The Brussels Connection: De Zerbi and Marseille reunite with their past in Union Saint-Gilloise clash

Tuesday evening will see an important match-up between Union Saint-Gilloise and Olympique de Marseille, a clash which will be crucial for Les Phocéens qualification ambitions to the round of 16. A 2-1 win over Newcastle boosted OM's hopes, but Roberto De Zerbi's men will be hoping for a reaction to their 1-0 loss in Northern France against Lille in last Friday's Ligue 1 McDonald's outing. This time, Les Olympiens will be travelling just across the border to face Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian capital.

DID you know?

Marseille will be reunited with Union Saint-Gilloise 63 years and 278 European matches after their initial European outing during the 1962-1963 season.

For both Roberto De Zerbi and Olympique de Marseille, Union Saint-Gilloise evokes memories of the distant (and not-so-distant) past. Tuesday evening will mark the second time that OM and USG meet: the last time was in Marseille's first-ever European outing in 1962. After Les Olympiens were promoted back to the first division, the Provence side had the opportunity to compete in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup during the 1962-1963 season. The two-legged affair saw Marseille take a 1-0 lead at the Stade Vélodrome, before l'Union managed to complete a 4-2 turnaround at Duden.

278 matches in Europe later, including various exploits and a Champions League win in 1993 - OM meet their first-ever European opponents. Yet the nostalgia doesn't finish there.

USG's Brighton connection & wider Ligue 1 links

Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi is familiar with the talent produced by Union Saint-Gilloise, having spent two seasons on the South Coast of England with Brighton & Hove Albion. The owner of the Seagulls, Tony Bloom, took over the Brussels capital club as the majority shareholder in 2018 along with Alex Muzio - the club's current chairman.

As USG surged up the second division and into the Belgian Pro League, the Stade Joseph Marien became a testing ground for some of the brightest talents that Brighton possessed, before they became Premier League stars. The likes of Karou Mitoma, Deniz Undav, and Simon Adingra all wore the yellow and blue of Union before starring under Roberto De Zerbi in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons with Brighton & Hove Albion.

⏰ Une minute sur le terrain, une superbe action et un premier assist.

🔥 @kaoru_mitoma 👏 pic.twitter.com/1aAn4Nfip5
— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) October 4, 2021

And the links don't stop there: Brighton's 2022-2023 player of the season Alexis Mac Allister would leave the Seagulls for Liverpool, but his brother Kevin Mac Allister joined USG on loan in 2019 before signing permanently in 2023 - on the recommendation of his 2022 World Cup-winning brother Alexis. The Argentine will be hoping to line up in defence to face his brother's former coach on Tuesday evening.

Then we have Sébastien Pocognoli. l'Union won their first Belgian Pro League title for 90 years last season with the former Brighton & Hove Albion defender as manager. In October, the former Belgium international took charge of AS Monaco, whom De Zerbi's Marseille will be facing next weekend at the Vélodrome in Ligue 1 McDonald's.