The Marseille club, which won Jean-Louis Gasset’s first three matches on the coaching bench, welcomes Villarreal in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League on Thursday.
Published
Reading time: 3 min
Before leaving Ivory Coast in the middle of the African Cup of Nations in January, Jean-Louis Gasset may have sought the advice of Émerse Faé, his former assistant who was ultimately victorious with the Elephants. How to get a team in distress back on the right path? Arriving two weeks ago on the bench of Olympique de Marseille, which faces Villarreal in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League, Thursday March 7, Gasset seems to have already found some answers.
OM had not won against a professional club for two months and eight matches before his arrival. He has just won his last three matches – Jean-Louis Gasset’s first three on the bench – in style, against Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1), Montpellier (4-1) and Clermont (5-1). The method of the 70-year-old coach, recruited to act as interim coach until the end of the season, is for the moment infallible.
Gasset wanted to give his players confidence. “He gave us serenity.”, assured Quentin Merlin, the full-back who arrived in Marseille in full slump during the winter transfer market, at a press conference. It now remains to be seen whether this good momentum will be sufficient to torpedo the yellow submarine on Thursday. “We need to erase some mistakes“, underlined the Marseille technician, like these two goals conceded early in the match against Shakhtar and Montpellier.
Marcelino back to play a bad trick
The newfound collective strength of OM will also have to be measured against that of Villarreal, who won the Europa League in 2021. The Spanish team is only 12th in the La Liga standings. But they beat Stade Rennes twice in the Europa League group stage this season (3-2, 1-0). And OM remains a French club, with the latter having a habit of failing in European competitions, sometimes with great originality and panache.
OM could thus be eliminated from the Europa League by the first of the two coaches they have sacked this season. Marcelino, the Spaniard who arrived in Marseille at the start of the summer and left before autumn even arrived, will make his return to the Vélodrome. The Marseille public never really appreciated him, because he was both the antithesis of the volcanic Igor Tudor, and the architect of an atonal game.
“We expect the public to transport us”
Fortunately for him and it is very unfortunate for OM, part of the Vélodrome will be orphaned by its supporters this evening. The Virage Nord residents knew that they would be subject to sanctions from UEFA if they used smoke bombs and lasers during the return match against Shakhtar. It is therefore quite natural that they brought out the smoke bombs and lasers during this meeting and that they will be absent this evening.
To replace them, OM has agreed with UEFA to invite around 5,000 children who will occupy part of this northern stand. “We expect the public to transport us”launched Jean-Louis Gasset, who wishes “take a substantial option from the first leg“. With “kids” in the stands, the Vélodrome will necessarily make less noise, but the Marseille public, aware of the team’s recovery in recent weeks, will also try to respond.
Eighth finalist in the Europa League for the first time since 2018 – the year the club lost (3-0) in the final against Griezmann’s Atlético -, OM “wants the qualification”, Merlin reminded. “It’s going to be a difficult match.”, according to the left side. A month ago, all the meetings that OM tackled seemed like obstacles. For two weeks and the arrival of Jean-Louis Gasset, the Marseille club has been doing better but it is a real test that awaits it at the Vélodrome against Villarreal.