Saturday evening, OM brilliantly continued with a third consecutive success by beating Clermont at the Gabriel Montpied stadium (1-5). Barely three weeks ago, the team found itself in bad shape, plunged into a deep crisis marked by moods between certain players and clumsy statements from the managers. However, thanks to the intervention of Jean-Louis Gasset, who succeeded in calming the situation in just three weeks, the team seems transformed.
100% of the workforce is affected
When Jean Louis Gasset was appointed on February 20, many skeptics doubted his ability to revitalize this squad. Three matches later, his seduction operation is a success. While his predecessor insisted that the team’s problem lay in the mentality rather than the system or the quality of the players, there is no denying that on this point he was not wrong. Unlike the Italian coach, Gasset has found “the mental key” to get the best out of his players. He notably had the courage to impose the return of Pape Gueye to management for example, sidelined since his return from the CAN. After the match against Clermont, the Senegalese midfielder expressed his gratitude to his coach: “Honestly, as a football player, that’s all you expect, the support of the coach. So, I want to thank him because he arrived in a position where it was not easy for him. And he knew how to make strong decisions. That’s why I thank him.” Gasset also resolved the Clauss case, easing tensions with the player to find the brilliant Jonathan Clauss of the start of the season. These positive signs, associated with the rise in power of Aubameyang, the decisive performances of Illiman Ndiaye, the progression of Ismaïla Sarr, and the contributions of Moumbagna, Henrique, and even Ounahi against Clermont, demonstrate a squad fully committed to moving up the rankings, which aspires to be the sensation of this end of the season.
A game plan understood and appreciated by all
Despite a delicate experience with the Ivorian selection, Jean-Louis Gasset remains an indisputable tactical reference. Famous assistant to Laurent Blanc, he is often praised for the quality of his training and his tactical instructions. Zlatan Ibrahimovic also underlined, in an interview for L’Équipe, the importance of Gasset in the development of Paris Saint-Germain’s game: “With Laurent Blanc, we experienced a positive period, we won a lot of things. He made sure that the players remained themselves and could express themselves. Laurent Blanc imposed very few restrictions, and above all he had a very good assistant, a truly fantastic guy (Jean-Louis Gasset). Together, they created a game that I rarely played at club level, which reminded me of Barcelona.“He seems to be repeating that with OM this time in the shoes of number 1.
Although many advocate the 3-5-2, Gasset proved that Gattuso was right: it is not a problem of system, but of tactical instructions. Here is the difference between the two men once again. Gasset is not revolutionizing football, he is simply doing what he announced at the press conference: simple things. In training, there are real work sequences, circuits and passing patterns that can be found in matches. This is what we call the influence of a coach on a team. Of course, he has not yet faced any big names, and Shakhtar, Montpellier and Clermont were largely affordable teams. However, these are teams that we did not necessarily beat brilliantly this season, and above all, Gasset revives this team in a crucial moment, for the final sprint.
We have experienced such a trying season that whatever the outcome, let’s take advantage of this prosperous period, appreciate and look forward to Thursday when Gasset could write his name a little more in the history of the club by achieving a 4th success of rank.
2024-03-04 00:00:00
#spell #Gasset
