• Olympique de Marseille travels to Metz for the last match of the Ligue 1 season.

  • Marseille supporters already have their heads turned to next season.

  • OM could be one of the most interesting teams to follow with the profound renewal of the squad, which will have been chosen by Jorge Sampaoli, and probably the return of the supporters to the Vélodrome stadium.

The last game of a stunning season.

Olympique de Marseille travels to Metz on Sunday evening at the end of the 2020/2021 Ligue 1 season, at 9 p.m., for a match without a stake, or almost.

The Marseillais are practically already qualified for the Europa League, the Lensois, 5th, are the only ones able to return to the height of OM, but with a negative difference of four goals.

And all OM supporters already have their eyes on the next season, which promises to be thrilling in several ways.

Staff renewal

“A new chapter, a new era will begin next season at OM”.

These are the words of Florian Thauvin, during his farewell Sunday evening after the victory against Angers.

The French, emblematic player of OM since 2013, will leave Marseille to join the Tigers, in Mexico.

And he's not the only one to leave the club this summer.

Pelé, Nagatomo, Rocchia, Khaoui and Germain's contracts expire and loaned players like Ntcham or Cuisance should not be kept.

Caleta-Car, which has a beautiful coast in England, could leave, like Boubacar Kamara, the biggest market value of OM.

Hiroki Sakai will also return to Japan.

Jorge Sampaoli and Pablo Longoria

Who says many departures, says next arrival.

"A twitter account which lists rumors linked to OM already identifies 27 while the transfer window has not started," warns the twitto Glophar who follows the young nuggets tracked by OM.

And he has not finished compiling videos of the players mentioned by the press.

Jorge Sampaoli and Pablo Longoria will be responsible for the in-depth renewal of this team.

“The president and the coach are on the same page.

There is a good understanding between them, which is the basis for things to turn out, ”recalls former midfielder Marcel Dib.

Above all, Jorge Sampaoli will be able to choose his future recruits, while he is already doing great things with a workforce already in place. “Sampaoli will be expected, we can't really judge him with this arrival during the season. We see improvements in the game so if he has the players he wants we can judge him. It will above all be a wind of novelty and freshness, we've been talking about the same players for years, ”considers Glophar.

A first summer transfer window for which Pablo Longoria will also be judged, arrived during the summer of 2020. But his recruitment of Pol Lirola and Milik this winter announces the color.

“I have total confidence in Longoria who has already made some very nice shots at low cost.

And the names that come out are the future of football, it makes you want to trust him, ”adds Glophar.

Among those already released, the Argentinian nugget Almada, the young Toulouse-based Adli, and the Brazilian Gerson.

“We still have to wait a little bit, we don't know if OM will keep Mandanda or go find a goalkeeper, we don't know if Milik is staying.

So there are a lot of question marks ”, tempers Marcel Dib.

The return of passion

If it has never left the supporters, this famous passion which makes flow a blue and white liquid in the veins of the Marseillais supporters seems to return within the club. It is enough to see the celebration of Pablo Longoria on the goal synonymous with the European Cup on Sunday to realize it. "A true enthusiast", as recalled Florent Sinama Pongolle, consultant Canal +, who knew him in Huesca, while some saw it as a role play. But JHE is no longer president.

And what about Sampaoli, expelled after having harangued his players so much that Mr. Schneider took his cries for him?

The hot coach is the very embodiment of the South American passion, so appreciated in Marseille.

Not to mention the many victories, nearly 50% since his arrival, snatched in the last minutes of matches.

“We remain OM, it's too easy for us to take shelter.

But I've always known that at OM, the match is never over in both directions.

It's the norm in Marseille, you don't know when but you know that there is always something going to happen, ”recalls Glophar.

"If the passion returns, it's already won," warns Marcel Dib.

The supporters

Who says passion, necessarily says supporters.

And after almost an entire season of closed-door matches, the next season may well see the return of the ultras, South Winners, Fanatics and company to the Stade Vélodrome.

Imagine an offensive team harangued by Sampaoli and pushed by a whole stadium.

Or the celebration of Longoria in a packed Jean Bouin stand.

“I really don't know how the players were able to adapt to empty stadiums.

There is no longer a home or an outside.

We love the South American style in Marseille, this style of trainer, winner, enthusiast.

Passion is everywhere in the city, ”recalls Marcel Dib.

So much so that the supporters are already at the Stade Vélodrome, being vaccinated so as not to miss the first match of the 2021/2022 season.

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  • Soccer

  • OM

  • Marseilles

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  • League 1

  • Jorge Sampaoli