EXCLUSIVE - Pablo Longoria of OM: "One of the best groups I've seen in my career"

Colin Abgrall 8:40 p.m., May 05, 2022

EXCLUSIVE

Quite rare in the media, in Marseille as elsewhere, the 35-year-old Spanish leader gave an exclusive interview to Europe 1. As his team faces this Thursday evening at the Stade Vélodrome at the Feyenoord in Rotterdam for a place in the final of the Conference League, Pablo Longoria looks back in particular on the OM season, analyzes French football, talks about his coach Jorge Sampaoli but also the tragedy of Furiani, which occurred in Bastia 30 years ago to the day during a match Bastia-OM , in which 19 people were killed.

His passion for football: "The passion was born by going to the stadium."

"I think it's something that happens naturally. At the time, in our region of Asturias, a region in the north of Spain, we had teams in the Spanish first division. Real Oviedo and Sporting Gijón. And the passion was born by going to the stadium."

On OM: "OM is a popular club."

“One of the most important values ​​that I consider is that OM are a popular club. We cannot forget that in the management of the club. It is one of the strengths of the club. when we go to the hotel, we see a lot of supporters. The looks of people, the passion. As president, it continues to touch me a lot."

On taking office in February 2021: "I wanted everyone to go in the same direction."

“The first thing I wanted was for everyone to go in the same direction. The supporters, the employees, the club, the players. Everyone forms the Olympique de Marseille family. That was the fundamental objective. It is the way to be able to find a little stability in a sport which is a game. I believe that it is possible to have stability. There are cities like Marseille , like OM, more passionate than others. Passion is always ups and downs, it's white or black. I've always believed that building a project in a football club should be done with logic and with decisions that are consistent. And when there is consistency, there is always more stability."

On Sampaoli's future: "Give continuity."

"I enjoy watching the team this season. He has a contract with us until 2023, but there is an important component for me. When we start projects with a playing identity, and "we see that there are results, that there is an identification. We have found good times and emotions. The objective of the clubs will always be to give continuity to that. Jorge is in a moment when he is very happy here. Those who are close to him or the team see that he wants to settle on a long-term project, sees the desire he has in everyday life, in all the actions what he does. We are very happy and the most important thing he gave us was the game identity that we were looking for."

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On the semi-final against Feyenoord: "Playing with the head and calm."

"A semi-final is a special match. It's a match that we create. It's important to play this type of match with a lot of calm, knowing what our strengths are. We are a team built to play in a very determined way. I believe that if we have our values, we have opportunities. If we are ourselves. You have to gain experience to play this type of match. It's a young team, who must progress, we must play with the head and calm."

Did he expect a season like this?

"One of the best bands I've seen in my career."

"We worked to do things seriously. In life, work always pays off. It's complicated to plan a reconstruction of a club with a lot of new players. They all have to be together. is difficult, but it's not surprising because I believe a lot in the coaches, in the group. From the first year. I believe in the element that there is between the players inside the dressing room. There's a really good group. It's one of the best groups I've seen in my career. We saw it the other day in Reims (1-0 victory over Marseille). It was the victory of "a group that believed in this result. It's an important and special group. And it continues to build."

His view of French football: "One of the best leagues in Europe."

"I have always considered French football to be the most important league for scouting (scouting players). At Juventus, we said that we could scout only by watching the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 championships These are championships with a huge number of talents, modern players, physical players with very good coordination. That's modern football and that's the first thing that attracts a lot of foreign clubs. But when you es inside, it's interesting to see the evolution of the championship.

I think this season is one of the best leagues in Europe.

Many clubs have retained their best talents.

Many teams use the low block.

There has been a tactical evolution and it is very important.

I see a lot more organization in teams and this type of evolution, really, is something we are starting to think about.

In recent years, it was the pressing of Klopp (Liverpool manager) against possession football.

It was a bit like the tactical battle of football.

And I think now it's going to be the teams that have quick transitions, that play at high intensity against teams that defend and are well structured to play counter-attacks.

And how to find the balance in that will be the big question for the next season, I think."

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On the training of young people: "One of the things that we set as a priority."

"We would like to thank the work of Nasser Larguet. He has brought a lot of good things to the club, especially in one aspect of the organization. The academy has improved a lot on the organization, to set up different things and he did a good job inside OM. It is important for us to understand that we are in a region where there is a lot of passion for football. How to properly develop a policy in which we can we develop the academy as well? It's very important for identification. It's something we ask for, the level of identification with the team, the feeling in relation to the team. is one of the things we set as a priority."

Room for seniors?

"They are the ones who made the history of the club."

"The door is always open. The first thing a club must do is respect its history. Otherwise, there is no project. They are the ones who made the history of the club, who allow today it is up to everyone to work on a daily basis and to continue to be here. We are passing through. The most important question is always competence. But always with an open door for collaboration with all the alumni. players. Because a club, without its former players and which does not respect history, is not a football club."

On the anniversary of Furiani's drama: "Make a monument, here, in Marseille."

"First of all, my thoughts go out to the victims and the families of the victims. That is the most important thing. A club must always think about its history and know these tragic moments well. We must be up to it. We tried to live up to it with UEFA, with the question of the black armbands and a minute of silence. We thank UEFA for allowing us to do this. It is important to show respect at an important moment. I would like OM to go further and we have to work on thinking how to pay an even stronger tribute. Furiani is something very important in the history of the club. We would like to start working to have different initiatives, ideas, to be able to make a monument, here, in Marseille."