Change of management in Marseille?

The next few days are going to be of paramount importance for Olympique de Marseille. The French football club, ranking second of the league in 2019/2020 and thus qualified for the upcoming Champions’ League, surprised the whole city last Thursday with a news that may endanger the fragile balance acquired lately.

Andoni Zubizarreta, arrived in 2016, is no longer the sports director of Marseille. The former Spanish goalkeeper and the club decided to stop the collaboration on a common agreement, the communique dropped yesterday says. But more than this departure, it is the aftermath of it than can be dramatic for the Southern club and its supporters.

As a matter of fact, Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas may be the next one to leave the boat. And this is huge. Within one year, the one who was once coach of Chelsea’s Blues succeeded in winning the supporters’ heart by adding up victories and rising up the club on top of the ranking, behind untouchable PSG. Even though everything was not perfect, Marseille’s players made the fans proud again after a difficult 2018/2019 season. The teammates of Bouna Sarr, Senegalese and Guinean roots, did not hide. And yet, Villas-Boas had a short squad this season and not so many solutions on the bench.

In Marseille because of Zubizarreta, who made him come, the coach claimed in January that his future and Zubi’s one were necessarily linked. Witnessing him leave may make Villas-Boas think of the next episode for him as well. The Portuguese and Marseille’s president had met earlier to discuss the next season and the possibility for the coach to extend his contract, but it seems now that the ultimate decision depends on one individual only, whatever the club may do or say. And in Marseille, where passion can be overwhelming sometimes, no doubt that the fans will know what to do if things go wrong.

By Guillaume Mahot

Africa Global News Publication