Marseille mourn death of owner Dreyfus

The family of the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Olympique Marseille's main shareholder, have committed themselves to the Ligue 1 club.

Louis-Dreyfus died late on Saturday aged 63 in a Zurich hospital where he was treated for leukaemia.

"Robert Louis-Dreyfus was so attached to Olympique Marseille that his heirs will pursue his work," the wife and three children of the Swiss businessman said in a statement on the club's website.

"In conformity with his will ... they will be eager to add new pages of glory in the history of the club with the current management."

Louis-Dreyfus took control of Marseille in 1997 and, according to French media reports, invested more than 200 million euros in the club.

He was also the main sponsor of Belgian club Standard Liege and the main shareholder in one of the world's leading commodities trading houses.

Media reports estimated his fortune at 100 million dollars.

If he was lucky in business, Louis-Dreyfus was however unlucky in his love for Olympique Marseille.

Despite his investment, the club he wanted to turn into "a southern Bayern Munich", as he said when he took over, failed to win a trophy in his 12 years at the helm.

Marseille's best performances were two defeats in the final of the UEFA Cup in 1999 and 2004, and finishing runners-up in the French Cup in 2006 and 2007.

The love affair between the businessman and the Mediterranean port's club turned into a nightmare when Louis-Dreyfus was handed a three-year suspended sentence in June 2006 for involvement in a fraud scandal over players' transfers.

His pride hurt, Louis-Dreyfus tried to sell his shares in the club.

The only potential buyer was Canadian businessman Jack Kachkar, who offered 115 million euros. Louis-Dreyfus agreed but ended the negotiations because Kachkar failed to provide sufficient guarantees.

Last season, the club took on a new lease of life when they finished second in the Ligue 1 after vying with Girondins Bordeaux until the final round of matches.

This good run, their best in years, was spoiled by new problems. Coach Eric Gerets left the club, complaining of "lack of gratitude and most of all lack of trust".

A few weeks later, Louis-Dreyfus parted company with Pape Diouf, who had been chairman of the club for five years, because of "differences of opinion".

The new men in charge are Jean-Clause Dassier, former head of news at French TV channel TF1, who was appointed chairman on June 22, and Didier Deschamps, captain of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning France teams, who was named coach on May 5.