Pape Diouf, Former President of Marseille Soccer Club, Dies at 68

After the sports daily that he worked for closed, he went to work as a sports agent. He used the contacts he had built up during his time as a journalist — which coincided with a period of glory for Marseille — to sign up as clients some of France’s best-known players of African descent. They included stars like Basile Boli and Marcel Desailly.

“He’s not a friend — he was a big brother to me,” Boli said. “All my children, my father and my mother knew him, loved him.”

Mr. Diouf was hired in 2004 as general manager of Marseille, a notoriously difficult club to run, with a passionate fan base and turbulent modern history.

Within a year, the owner, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, promoted him to club president. During his time at the helm, from 2005 to 2009, Marseille came up just short of winning a title, twice finishing second in the league and twice losing in the French cup finals. But many credit Mr. Diouf’s recruitment decisions for ending an 18-year wait for the championship.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/obituaries/mababa-pape-diouf-dead-coronavirus.html