Like Alexis Sanchez, who had spoken of "the worst defeat of (his) career", Ruslan Malinovskyi assured Friday that he had experienced the elimination against Annecy, modest 10th in Ligue 2, in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France very badly. France 10 days ago.
"I lost two Cup finals, in Italy with Atalanta and in Belgium with Genk. It was two less severe defeats than that of Annecy. It was very difficult, we lived two very complicated days", explained the Ukrainian at a press conference.
But the Marseille public, who already saw themselves in the final at the Stade de France, ready to celebrate a trophy that they love and have been waiting for since 1989, undoubtedly experienced it even worse.
"Warm Heart, Cool Head"
The anger was all the stronger because if the Marseille season is satisfactory for the moment, most of the real disappointments have come at home, with defeats against Paris, Nice, Lens and Ajaccio in the league, in addition to those conceded against in Frankfurt and Tottenham in the Champions League.
The victory brought back from Rennes on Sunday and the four margin points taken over Monaco and Lens in L1 certainly made it possible to partially appease the disappointment of the setback suffered against the Haut-Savoyards, three days after the passage of the Mbappé tornado in Marseille.
OM's Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskiy against Lorient, January 14, 2023 at the Vélodrome © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP/Archives
But Sunday, in front of a Vélodrome which will once again be sold out, the Marseillais know that they must offer their supporters a convincing success to really be forgiven.
"All the matches here are special and it's always a spectacle. But after two defeats, people are expecting a strong reaction. We will have to play against Strasbourg with a warm heart and a cool head, with great concentration," confirmed Malinovskyi .
"You can't joke with the tifosi, you mustn't disrespect them. You have to have the right attitude and you have to react strongly. We managed to win in Rennes, with a good reaction. We well prepared for Strasbourg and we must have the same desire to win, this same mentality," added the former Atalanta player.
Memory of 2022
Igor Tudor, for his part, was rather skeptical about the idea of revenge.
"The players don't think about that kind of thing, home game, away game... They always want to give their all. When you play for a club like OM, every game is special", he judged.
OM players celebrate their 2nd place in Ligue 1 and their qualification for the Champions League, after their success against Strasbourg, on May 21, 2022 at the Vélodrome © Sylvain THOMAS / AFP / Archives
But the Croatian technician also acknowledged that this privilege comes with some responsibilities.
"This jersey has a weight because there are these supporters, here and everywhere where we play. It's very beautiful, very stimulating. But it can also take something away from you, weigh you down a little. But I think that 'There's enough personality in the team to face that and make something positive out of it,' he explained.
To face the Alsatians on Sunday, Tudor may be deprived of Cengiz Under, feverish at the end of the week, but should have the reinforcement of Samuel Gigot, back from injury.
The approximately 63,000 spectators of the Vélodrome will come with their memories.
The most recent are therefore not brilliant, but Strasbourg's last visit to Marseille, in 2022, was memorable: OM won 4-0 in an exceptional atmosphere and after a crazy match which offered them, with the help of Lens, the qualification in extremis for the Champions League at the expense of Monaco.
© 2023 AFP