Olympique de Marseille have only won one game at home this season and the latest defeat at the Vélodrome, against AJ Auxerre (3-1) on Friday, drew a severe reaction from Roberto De Zerbi, who joined the club in the summer. “If I’m the problem, I’m ready to leave,” said the Italian.
Those comments come amid a tough run of form for OM. Early results suggested a capacity to challenge Paris Saint-Germain for the Ligue 1 title. However, with this new squad and new strategy in its infancy, De Zerbi always played down such talk. Now nine points behind the reigning Ligue 1 champions, you can see why. However, with Les Phocéens third in the league, it is far from a disastrous situation.
“We’re talking about a crisis but we’re third in the table,” OM’s sporting director Mehdi Benatia told RMC Sport. “We’re in a project with 12 new guys […] when you speak about a young team, you’re not going to come in and say that you’re going to walk over everyone,” he added.
Benatia, who himself only arrived at Marseille last season, then offered his support to De Zerbi, following his public offer to step aside. “He chose OM. When you know the person, you know he suits the city. It’s the love, the football, the passion. He told me: ‘If I’m the problem, don’t hesitate. I don’t need money.’ When you talk about responsibility, he assumes his.The confidence that we have in him, I don’t even need to talk about it,” said Benatia.
He added that, despite the comments, everything will be normal when training resumes on Wednesday. “Roberto is excessive and impulsive. That’s how he is. But he has our full confidence and tomorrow (Wednesday) at the return to training, everything will be normal,” said OM’s sporting director.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
