The day that Gallardo and Galtier, PSG’s new coach, finished off | “They gave me so that I have, kicks and pineapples from everywhere,” said the Doll

In a game in April 2000, with the French league coming to an end, The Monaco of Marcelo Gallardo, David Trezeguet and Fabien Barthez -fighting for the championship- and Olympiquewith Christophe Galtier as technical assistant -fighting not to descend-.

22 years later, with the assumption of the brand new DT of Paris Saint-Germain of Lionel Messithe match took relevance again, since there was a famous fight between Galtier and Gallardo.

The first half was still being played and Olympique was in the lead when a long brawl broke out in the middle of the field of play after the expulsion of Spanish Iván de la Peña, a local midfielder. In the meantime, Gallardo came to take a tap on the back of the rival defender Patrick Blondeau, while Barthez – world champion goalkeeper with France in 1998 – reassured him in an unkind way. Of course, nothing comparable to what would come later.

According to reports Diego Borinsky in his book “Gallardo Monumental”, when the teams went to halftime all the Marseillais went up in smoke against the Doll in the tunnel. That’s where Galtier and Gallardo crossed paths, who didn’t even come out for the second half of the match that ended 4-2 in favor of Olympique. “It was a lynching. I saw Gallardo with a swollen eye and severe pain in his lower abdomen. Marcelo had to stay in the hospital until 4 in the morning,” said Henri Banchieri, Monaco’s sporting director at the time.

Gallardo himself recounted in the book what happened at that halftime. “It turns out that there were some private security guys at the tunnel door and when I got in being a ‘pack’, as if something was closed, and effectively the security had cut off the entrance. Inside was Galtier waiting for me. He spoke to me a little in Spanish, he kind of grabbed my hair, I played dumb, I took it off. And when I take it off I see from the corner that he is going to throw a pineapple and I elbow him in the middle of the face. There a security guy grabbed me from behind, the Marseille players came and started hitting me from the front without stopping. They gave me to have kicks and pineapples from everywhere. It was a beautiful experience,” the Doll told Borinsky wryly.

Finally, both Gallardo and Galtier were expelled by the referee. Days later, the current DT of River was given a one-game suspension and the now PSG coach, six months of punishment. The case even reached the French national front page, since the Minister of Sport at that time had to refer to the issue and described it as “extremely serious”.

That tournament ended with the Monaco champion and Marseille saving themselves from relegation due to goal difference.

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