Longoria on Champions League Failure: Collective Responsibility

Three days after the elimination in the Champions League following a heavy defeat on the lawn of Bruges (3-0), Pablo Longoria spoke for the first time since this failure. The president of OM assumes his responsibilities and speaks about the numerous changes in the Marseille squad in recent years.

For OM, it is time to move on. The defeat conceded on Wednesday in Bruges and the elimination in the Champions League have unsurprisingly left their mark. The club and its coach Roberto De Zerbi are going through a new period of strong turbulence before facing Paris FC on Saturday in Ligue 1. Present at the Jean-Bouin stadium in the capital, Pablo Longoria appeared very marked in this difficult week, affirming that “everyone has their role” in the elimination in C1.

“There is a collective responsibility. As president, I am primarily responsible. In victory, there is not just one man responsible. In defeat, it is normal for everyone to take responsibility,” assured the Olympian president at the microphone of BeIN Sports.

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“A balance to be found between different situations”

But how can we explain this European rout? “It’s true that there are a lot of changes. The stability is having players who have been playing together for a while. That helps,” admitted Pablo Longoria. “When I arrived in 2020, the OM team was not the same as the one today. You have to gain height, even in a difficult situation. There is the ambition to look for players who complete a squad. It’s a balance to find between different situations.”

After the defeat in the Champions Trophies against PSG on penalties and the elimination in the Champions League, OM can go for the Coupe de France. With PSG eliminated, Marseille has a chance to play in the competition. We will first have to get rid of Rennes in the round of 16 on Tuesday (9:10 p.m.). A new crucial meeting in the OM season.