Marseille — Best pictures!

The star-studded Cote d’Ivoire national team was unable to break the back of minnows Burkina Faso in their opener in the African Nations Cup last Monday (0:0), but midfielder Siaka Tiene (left) of French side Valenciennes FC still managed to post a gain

Souleymane Diawara’s last-minute goal netted Olympique Marseille a 2:1 away win over FC Lorient and allowed them to claim 2nd place in French Ligue 1 standings, while Diawara himself (center) grabbed the top spot in the FTBL ranking of African defenders

Olympique Marseille’s France international Steve Mandanda last weekend lost the top spot in the FTBL ranking of goalkeepers in the Ligue 1 to Olympique Lyon’s Hugo Lloris.

The participation of Bordeaux midfielder Yoann Gourcuff in the coming match against Nancy remains under question as reports seem to indicate he is far from being back on track after the injury suffered in France’s World Cup playoff game against Ireland.

Olympique Marseille’s Argentina international Gabriel Heinze was at it again last Friday, scoring the only goal (and winner) for his side for the second time this month and earning a whopping 23.3 rating points in the FTBL system, a considerable feat