When PSG Called on an African Witch Doctor To Win a Champions League Match
- In 1997, PSG reportedly turned to a West African witch doctor for help to win a critical UEFA Champions League match
- Then PSG president Michel Denisot, desperate to overturn a 3-0 deficit, hired marabout Siddig to for divine assistance
- On matchday, PSG delivered an unforgettable 5-0 victory, with Rai’s hat-trick and a goal eah from Simone and Maurice
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Paris Saint-Germain’s 1997/1998 Champions League campaign produced one of the most bizarre and unforgettable anecdotes in European football history.
To overturn a disastrous situation, PSG didn’t just rely on tactics or talent, they turned to the supernatural from Africa.
Source: Getty Images
PSG's nightmare in Bucharest
On August 13, 1997, PSG faced Steaua Bucharest in the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League. Despite fielding stars like Raï and Florian Maurice, the French side stumbled to a 3-2 defeat in Romania.
While the away goals rule kept hopes alive, disaster soon struck. PSG had unknowingly fielded suspended player Laurent Fournier, prompting UEFA to award Steaua a 3-0 win by forfeit.
This left PSG needing an improbable four-goal margin at home to qualify to the next stage.
The French press and public ridiculed the club, and pressure mounted on PSG president Michel Denisot and his squad ahead of the return leg at the Parc des Princes.
Turning to football supernatural
Faced with a seemingly impossible challenge, Denisot was open to any form of help, even from beyond the footballing world.
As Denisot later revealed on French television, Claude Le Roy, a PSG staff member with deep ties to African football, began receiving calls from marabouts, West African witch doctors offering their services.
"All of France rightly laughed at us. The players reacted quite well to this blunder and were therefore quite motivated around Ricardo at the time. And then the match approached. We needed to win by at least four goals to qualify,''
''Claude Le Roy, a member of the PSG staff who had coached Cameroon and African teams, told me he was getting calls from marabouts calling him." I told him, "I'll take everything, a truckload of candles from Lourdes, marabouts, anything legal to try to turn the situation around!" And so, I got in touch with a marabout named Siddig—with whom I still have a relationship today—and I discovered Western Union to pay him by sending money by post,''
Determined to leave no stone unturned, Denisot engaged a marabout named Siddig, wiring him money through Western Union.
Initially, Siddig was skeptical, but as the match drew closer, his tone shifted dramatically.
Two days before kickoff, the sorcerer confidently declared:
“You will win 5-0. And number 18 will score the fourth goal in the 41st minute.”
A prophecy fulfilled
On the night of the return leg, the Parc des Princes became the stage for what can only be described as a miracle.
''It wasn't a huge sum, and above all, given what was at stake, it was nothing. At first, he told me, "It's not possible, I don't see anything." And then, two days before the match, he told me, "That's it! You're going to win 5-0! And I can even see the match very clearly. There will be a fourth goal in the 41st minute, scored by number 18." Denisot added.
PSG tore through Steaua Bucharest, with Raï netting a hat-trick, Marco Simone adding another, and, as foretold, Florian Maurice, wearing number 18, scoring the fourth goal precisely in the 41st minute.
The final whistle blew at 5-0, as PSG completed one of the most astonishing comebacks in Champions League history and sending the French side through to the group stage.
Though PSG failed to advance past the group stage that season, the night remains etched in club folklore, not just for the football, but for the surreal tale of mystical intervention.
Leonardo, the Real Magician
Adding another twist, PSG’s Brazilian playmaker Leonardo was set for a transfer to AC Milan, but Denisot warned him the deal would be blocked if PSG crashed out.
Motivated to secure his move, Leonardo delivered a dazzling performance, sealing his transfer and earning praise from Denisot, who later mused, “The real magician was Leonardo.”
Leaonardo sought more help
Years later, as AC Milan coach during the 2009-10 season, Leonardo reportedly turned once again to the same marabout for help in European competition, proof that the legend of PSG’s supernatural gamble lived on.
In football, belief can take many forms, tactical, emotional, or even mystical. For PSG in 1997, that belief delivered an unforgettable night that still echoes through the club’s history.
Source: Getty Images
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