Bernard Tapie is dead. The former president of Olympique Marseille and owner of Adidas was as successful as it was controversial in France.
Marseille – The scandalous French businessman and former Adidas owner Bernard Tapie is dead. The former head of the first division Olympique Marseille, whose bribery affair brought him to prison, died on Sunday morning (03.10.2021) at the age of 78 from cancer, like his Family confirmed to La Provence newspaper. One of his sons wrote on Instagram: “Goodbye, my phoenix”.
Tapie was a glamorous and in France highly controversial manager and ex-politician. President Emmanuel Macron praised his “ambition, energy and enthusiasm” for “inspiring generations of French”. Tapie never gave up; Macron said his willingness to fight could move mountains.
Bernard Tapie: Adidas affair ended in acquittal
In Germany he was best known as a former Adidas owner. The sale of his shares in the German sporting goods manufacturer preoccupied courts for years. In July 2019, he was acquitted of charges of fraud and evasion of public funds in the Adidas affair.
He was a businessman, politician and sports manager. Mostly successful, always controversial, often shrouded in scandal. The soccer world champions Kylian Mbappe and Bixente Lizarazu, as well as Bernard Hinault, who had won the Tour de France under the leadership of Tapie – still the last Frenchman to this day. President Emmanuel Macron praised Tapie’s “ambition, energy and enthusiasm” for “inspiring generations of French”. Tapie never gave up; Macron said his willingness to fight could move mountains.
Bernard Tapie: Sentenced to prison after bribery affair
Olympique Marseille mourned the loss of the “Grand Monsieur” (Mbappe), who “left a big void in the hearts of Marseille and will forever remain a club legend”. Rivals Paris St. Germain and Olympique Lyon also expressed their condolences.
With “OM” he caused one of the biggest scandals in European football history. After a bribery scandal involving the club he bought in 1986, he was sentenced to eight months in prison at the end of 1995. The club had previously won the championship title four times under his leadership and the Champions League in 1993, still being the only club from France.
After the World Cup triumph in Italy, Tapie had brought Franz Beckenbauer to Marseille as a coach in 1990, and the “Kaiser” switched to the position of technical director a little later. Rudi Völler also played for “OM” from 1992 to 1994. Völler told the Sportinformationsdienst (SID) that he experienced Tapie “as a dazzling figure with strong leadership”: “The great successes of this club are inevitably linked to his name. As President of Marseille, Bernard Tapie was a great fighter. “
Bernard Tapie: Also active as a politician
It was the big time tapies. As a club president, sporting goods mogul and politician – under President Francois Mitterrand he was Minister of Urban Development and later sat in the National Assembly – he had reached its climax.
Then came the crash and the prison. Tapie served six months in 1997 and continued to struggle with the judiciary. Recently successful, but very weak. Tapie, who also tried his hand as a singer, presenter and actor, had suffered from cancer for years. His condition had deteriorated significantly in the past few months.
Tapie was always connected to the sport, first as a racing driver in Formula 3, then as the cycling manager of the legendary La Vie Claire team, which also included Tour winners Hinault and Greg LeMond. On Sunday, Hinault paid tribute to the deceased. “He was an extraordinary character,” said the five-time tour champion of the AFP news agency: “There are winners and losers. He belonged to the first category. ”His family announced that Tapie would be buried in Marseille. (skr / sid / afp)
List of rubric lists: © Michel Euler / dpa
