Normally, a trip of more than 3,000 kilometers towards Baku, in the middle of the week, between two league games, would be enough to stretch any coach. Jorge Sampaoli, the Argentinian coach of Olympique de Marseille, may see it as a golden opportunity to reset everything, far from France, far from the tensions of La Canebière, after a very hectic week.
Thursday, February 24, OM play their second leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League Conference against the Qarabag club in Azerbaijan, after winning last week at the Vélodrome stadium in the first leg (3-1). The Marseille club is on a favorable tie, before this return confrontation, to join Stade Rennes in the round of 16. But for that, it will be necessary to ensure on the ground and to get rid of Azeris far from being exceeded last Thursday.
The opportunity is especially good to find a little calm after a hectic week. It’s been a grueling trip – a five-hour flight to Baku – but could do the buds some good. For several weeks, the players of Sampaoli have had a series of disappointments: a defeat against Lyon on February 1, conceded in the last quarter of an hour (1-2), a very painful elimination in the Coupe de France in Nice (1-4) and, more recently, a home defeat against Clermont last Sunday (0-2).
Since then, OM has had its crisis. After the defeat against the Clermontois, the speeches were very rough. Starting with that of the captain, Dimitri Payet: “We lacked humility. We were given a good lesson (…) We will have to deflate our heads a bit and get back to work.“Reply from his teammate Mattéo Guendouzi:”We will have to get back to work.” “If it’s an attitude problem, we’ll fix it in the locker room“, confirmed Valentin Rongier.
In Baku, against the Qarabag club, it is therefore not simply qualification for the next round that OM are seeking, but peace. Find a semblance of calm and serenity before starting the last third of the championship which will prove decisive: OM are 2nd with a point ahead of Nice (3rd) and only four over Strasbourg (4th). Winning with style this Thursday evening in Azerbaijan would allow us to approach the round of 16 of the competition in March with more confidence.
Final settings #QFKOM pic.twitter.com/5msvxOk6uK
– Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) February 23, 2022
Even before the start of the meeting, the Marseille players have, it seems, solved the problems internally. “The executives have spoken (…) We have to put all that to zero to start afresh“, assured Boubacar Kamara, the Marseille midfielder, at a press conference on Wednesday. But to leave Azerbaijan with a light spirit, it will also be necessary to ensure on the ground.
However, tensions emerged last week, after the first leg against Qarabag. The Azeri players then jostled the Marseillais, very happy to see Payet give OM a two-goal lead in the last seconds of the match. Enough to drive Jorge Sampaoli crazy after the meeting: “Footballistically, we were overtaken by this team, we got out of it mainly thanks to the finish, otherwise it would have been a completely different result (…) Collectively, we were overwhelmed.“
The Argentine coach, who had managed to find defensive stability after a start to the season where his team scored a lot while also conceding a lot of goals, is now looking for a new balance that his decisions make it difficult to find. OM players must constantly adapt to changes in the game system, and misunderstanding reigns over certain choices, like the Arkadiusz Milik case.
The Polish striker has scored seven goals in the last seven games, but is not yet considered an indisputable starter. Milik wonders and this vagueness contributes to the instability which reigns within the workforce. His coach did not mention these tensions on Wednesday at a press conference and was content to warn his players: “There are two goals difference and that’s important. But we will have to play another match than the one at the Vélodrome, otherwise we will have problems.“Having made things clear, the OM players know what they have to do.