Forever the first, certainly, but also never really quiet. If the sea is rather calm in the Old Port, on the heights of the Marseille city, on the other hand, the more sustained waves break on the Commanderie, and this, regardless of the season. Thus, if Marseille is currently runner-up to PSG in Ligue 1, and qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League conference, life is far from being a long calm river. The turmoil of the moment confirms it: well moored on the L1 podium, the Marseille ship is pitching behind the scenes.
For the anniversary of his presidency (started on February 26, 2021), Pablo Longoria is not short of work. Still temporarily banned from recruitment after the Pape Gueye affair, Olympique de Marseille is not in crisis, but the beginnings of fire are increasing, one year after the flames which razed some cypresses during the capture of the Commandery by the fans.
One of the hot issues for the president concerns Boubacar Kamara. Indispensable on the pitch, the Marseille minot has still not extended his contract which expires next June. Seeing him go free is not unlikely, which would be a double blow for the club, which would not only lose the only emblem of its formation against zero euros, but also a midfielder that has become essential for the coach, Jorge Sampaoli . It is no coincidence that OM lose more often when Kamara is not playing.
His case is not the only disruptive element in the locker room. Extended last year, defender Alvaro Gonzalez has been chomping at the bit since the start of the season. After making a financial effort on his salary to allow the signing of Amine Harit in September, the Spaniard was gradually put on hold by Sampaoli. Asked by AS (article in Spanish)he did not hide his spleen: “I don’t know what I’m a victim of. What I do know is that they renewed my contract and from there problems of all kinds started. (…) Just as I respect the club, I would like the club to respect me.”
From a sporting point of view, seeing Alvaro on the bench defends itself. But the involvement of the defender in the life of the club since his arrival would have deserved another consideration. Getting such a frame back is not necessarily the idea of the century for the Argentine coach.
The observation appears similar concerning the latent conflict between Sampaoli and Arkadiusz Milik. The OM star striker has just regained his efficiency but often remains on the bench. “There are things I don’t understand, but I’m doing my job”, coldly cursed the Pole after the victory in Metz on February 13.
Milik is not the only one to lose patience with the tactical experiments of Jorge Sampaoli, who keeps changing teams with players not aligned at their position. The increasingly sterile Marseille game suffered despite results in favor of OM. This deception also ended against Clermont, with a 2-0 defeat at the Vélodrome against the modest promoted Auvergne, on February 20.
1984 – Marseille loses by at least 2 goals at home against a promoted in Ligue 1 for the first time since August 31, 1984 against RC Paris (also 0-2). Stop. #OMCF63 pic.twitter.com/6ndV5M4o4s
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 20, 2022
The captain, Dimitri Payet came out of his hinges. “He we lacked humility, we didn’t show a coherent face, we didn’t show value, we didn’t show anything tonight. I think we’re going to have to deflate our heads a little, get back to work and show the face that is ours. “
The appointment was therefore made Thursday evening in Azerbaijan on the lawn of Qarabag, in the Europa League conference. If OM won 3-0 and qualified for the round of 16 without shaking, the players did not reassure, far from it. Witness the analysis of Jorge Sampaoli: “I have a lot of respect for this Qarabag team, which has not changed its idea of play and has dominated us for long periods. We won thanks to our superior individual quality. They showed that they could play very well, better than us. And I think the best player was [le gardien] Steve Mandanda”.
6 – Marseille scored at least 6 goals in a double knockout tie in European competition for the first time since February 2010 in the round of 16 of the Europa League (6-2 on aggregate against FC Copenhagen). Unblocking. #QFKOM pic.twitter.com/rx50mDsBsW
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 24, 2022
At the time of celebrating his birthday as president, Pablo Longoria therefore has focaccia on the board. In an interview at Figaro (article for subscribers)the Spaniard calmed things down: “A good leader knows when to be close or reframe, but in my opinion, a one-on-one conversation, without leaking things, is the best way to sort things out.”
If the ship is pitching, Captain Longoria is holding the helm well. A victory, Sunday, in Troyes would move away a little the storm which thunders in the distance of the Marseilles ship.