"It's too calm. I don't really like that. I prefer when it's a little too more less calm. "It would take up more space than" straight to the point "on the jerseys, but this quote from one of the greatest masterpieces of French cinema could very well serve as a motto at Olympique de Marseille. The club barely had time to celebrate its return to the Champions League and to bathe in front of the many circus acts by Jean-Michel Aulas when a new earthquake shakes the Vélodrome. This time Andoni Zubizarreta leaves OM. No surprise - the arrival of Paul Ardridge in January foreshadowed a near end for the Basque - nor a cataclysm in itself. Despite a good summer transfer window in 2019, Zubi had the flaw of not being able to sell. However, this departure takes on a whole new importance when we know that it can also lead to that of André Villas-Boas. The craftsman of OM's second place had linked his destiny to that of the former Barça goalkeeper just when the famous Aldridge put his suitcases on the Old Port.
"I came here first for the size of the club, second for Andoni Zubizarreta," said the Portuguese at the start of the year. I have already said that my future is intimately linked to its future. Passing through Marseille at the start of the week to speak with Jacques-Henri Eyraud, AVB left for Porto quietly. And, coup de grace for lovers of subliminal clues on the networks, the coach deleted OM from his bio Insta. Nothing has been done yet, but the departure track is therefore as credible as it is logical. It would also be a disaster for the Marseille club. We explain to you why.
The locker room may not live well
One of AVB's great successes since arriving in Marseille has been to put the locker room in your pocket with good results, resurrections - hello Steve Mandanda - and courageous stance. By serving as a bulletproof vest for Jordan Amavi when he was strongly criticized, the Portuguese obtained at the same time his flawless adhesion. "After this famous match against Rennes, it went to the fire for me, it touched me a lot," the defender told RMC Sport in January. We can also cite the cliché "we can go to war with him" by Bouna Sarr on his coach or, more recently, "love at first sight" between Dimitri Payet and Villas-Boas, dixit the French international on Eurosport. When all is well, farewells are painful and it is not said that all these players are satisfied with the departure of their benefactor. Another blow to lose stupidly of the frames of the cloakroom, this story.
A new coach to dive back into the C1 without means, really?
If the Portuguese leaves Marseille, which equivalent level coach would agree to prepare for a return to the Champions League under the same conditions as him, namely almost without means to recruit and with the need to generate cash (even if financial fair play has just been relaxed)? And with less time than AVB, in an apocalyptic context, otherwise it would be too easy. Who will want to get bogged down in such a bazaar, what is more in a club where the pressure of the public can quickly become suffocating if the results do not follow, with for only tool a workforce without depth of bench to which the management suggests grafting young people in training? In addition, who will want to dive head first, eyes closed in a possible remake of the nightmare of a group stage of C1 at zero point?
Management would still send back a beautiful image of OM
In this barely asleep volcano that is Olympique de Marseille, AVB quickly succeeded in generating an impression of mastery through a mastery and transparency that we would sometimes describe as daring. Even after the classico, where we thought he had crashed, his words often reassured his group and the supporters. The latter, if they do not adore him like Bielsa, respect him and trust him. A year after the stormy end of the Rudi Gardia chapter, who would have thought that a light breeze of serenity would embrace the Vélodrome? Allowing Villas-Boas to leave, whether on the dunes of the Dakar, in Porto or elsewhere, would be tantamount to overturning the house of cards at the worst possible time, exposing Marseille to new turbulence and damaging the image of the institution once again. It would be to seek a new coach, a new staff and therefore continue to sail on sight. However, the short-term (Mc) vision is rarely a friend of success, especially not at this level.
Sport
Mercato OM: Sports director Andoni Zubizarreta leaves the club, will André Villas-Boas follow him?
- Sport
- Soccer
- Marseille
- André Villas-Boas
- OM
- Jacques-Henri Eyraud