O Marseille is going through a bad sporting moment, largely down to Benfica. Following their elimination from the Champions League, in which the Marseillais came in 25th place in the league phase, Roberto de Zerbi, the Italian coach who guides the team from the south of France, lamented the countless changes to the squad, season after season.
“Marseille is a great team, but it needs time to grow. The players have been together for a very short time. If there are six or seven changes every season, it is difficult to be competitive. It is not an excuse, nor a criticism”, said the Italian in recent days, words that deserved a response from his president.
Before the opening whistle of this Saturday’s meeting between Paris FC and Marseille, which ended in a draw, Marseille president Pablo Longoria was in the studio of BeIN Sports France to address current affairs in Marseille.
Longoria explained the failure of the Gauls in the Champions League, in an outcome that was sentenced with Anatoly Trubin’s goal in Benfica’s victory over Real Madrid (4-2), which qualified the Eagles for the playoff to reach the round of 16, and even used the example of the Reds to justify the disinvestment.
“A coach must have collective ambition and it is true that there are many changes, and having players who have played together for some time helps, especially with collective automatisms. But that is my responsibility as president of a French club. Benfica renegotiated its television rights this week and will receive 57 million euros per season. According to our estimates, Marseille will receive around 17 million euros this season. It is an economic issue”, began by saying the Spanish director.
“I talk about this very openly. It is an appreciation of the squad and the objective of being at Champions League level. It is necessary to try to improve the squad according to opportunities, of course. You have to adapt to the coach and raise the individual level of the players. When I arrived at the club in 2020, the squad was different. Against Lens, when Ethan Nwameri left, it was Mason Greenwood who came in. You need to have perspective to understand reality. An economic model is needed. It is a balance to find”, added Pablo Longoria.
Despite the criticism, the Marseille president maintains confidence in De Zerbi.
“Honestly, we have to get out of the drama and theater that is created around many situations. After this heavy defeat, not only because of the game but because of everything that happened afterwards, with the end of Benfica-Real Madrid. There is always a feeling of disappointment. There is responsibility and there is management. Seeing drama and theater in the press for the simple management of a football club… Losing 3-0 in the Champions League against Club Brugge is not acceptable, but a president has to remain serious. Never I defined the Champions League as my objective, but that’s not a lack of ambition, it’s just reality”, said the director.
“In the last 30 years, Marseille has only managed to qualify for the Champions League twice in a row once. That is the main objective of the season. Having 9 points in 6 games is a good result. But being eliminated on goal difference because we conceded 6 goals in the last two games shows a lack of attention. What is the real problem? You have to look for and analyze the ups and downs. At no time was there any discussion about the coach leaving. There is a calm and professional analysis between Medhi, the coach and me about the reasons for the high-level games we just lost”, he concluded.
