Marseille continues its journey in the Europa League Conference this Thursday against FC Basel in a particular context. For the past few weeks, OM have not made any progress and their coach Jorge Sampaoli has been increasingly singled out.
3rd in the Swiss Super League, FC Basel is not in top form when it comes to facing Olympique de Marseille this Thursday at the Vélodrome. Guillermo Abascal’s men have won only 2 of their last 6 league games (2 draws, 2 wins, 2 losses), a record that the Swiss club shares with… OM (2 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses ), in great difficulty for a few weeks. Ironically, the two clubs face each other this Thursday in the Conference League and what should have been a relatively affordable match is gradually turning into a challenge for Jorge Sampaoli pointed out by the supporters as the main responsible for the difficulties that the club is going through. Marseille. “The Sampaoli flame is going out, I had a lot of hope but for a few weeks he lost the involvement of the groupwrites a supporter on Twitter aware of the split between the Argentinian and his group.
A locker room that lets go of its coach
Day after day, the gap seems to widen between the locker room and its coach. “I need playing time to be better. You travel a lot, you don’t play, and you may miss it… But in the end it’s the coach who decides“Explained Arkadiusz Milik at the microphone of Prime Video after the defeat against Monaco (0-1). If in public, the striker says he respects his coach’s choices, in private he would have already announced the color for next summer: it’s him or Sampaoli. Quickly denied by those around the Pole, this information revealed by The Team remains a good example of the discord within the Marseille locker room.
Another player who wonders about the choices of his coach: Leonardo Balerdi, bought 11 million euros last summer. This season, the Argentinian is no longer really part of the plans of the former Albiceleste coach, he is only the 14th most used player and has only played 4 games in 2022. Another summer transfer window recruit , Amine Harit is also in difficulty in Marseille and fails to impose himself within the workforce. On loan from Schalke 04, the 24-year-old midfielder is even less used than Steve Mandanda, second goalkeeper this season, or Alvaro Gonzalez pushed out.
Only the 7th attack in Ligue 1
But beyond the choices within the workforce, what causes the boos of the Vélodrome is what the team offers on the ground. Offensively first, OM are far from their slogan “to the point”, it is the 7th attack in Ligue 1 behind Monaco (8th), Lens (10th) or Montpellier (11th) and struggles to be effective in the last 30 meters. “You have to manage to be effective when the team dominates, improve in the last third of the field. It’s a defect that has cost us dearly all season, when we are a team with a lot of possession and situations. admitted Sampaoli during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday at the Vélodrome.
Defensively then, the Phocaeans worry in what was until recently a strength. Marseille have conceded 9 goals in their last 6 matches in Ligue 1, that’s as many as in the previous 15. All these problems give the impression that Sampaoli is gradually losing itself. First there was a first change in the way of playing in October with the ambition to regain the management of matches but that did not bear fruit, OM had the ball but did not know what to do with it.
Jorge Sampaoli alone responsible?
One thing is certain, Sampaoli has his share of responsibility in the complicated period that OM is going through and he knows it. “These are difficult times but I enjoy these times. This is where I learn the most, where I have to work the most. These are the ones where you have to rush headlong and find solutions., he always admitted in a press conference. However, the former Sevilla FC coach may not be solely responsible, especially when it comes to the true level of his players. The Brazilian Luan Pères, in great difficulty for a few matches is a good example of the questioning concerning the individual qualities of the Marseille squad, the same thing for Pol Lirola, who was so precious last season. Of course, the two full-backs are not the only ones in this situation: Under arrives to revive after a completely failed season in Leicester, Harit was in the closet in Germany, Kolasinac could not prevent the descent of Schalke 04, Saliba n haven’t played a single minute with Arteta and Milik has his right knee in pieces. Day after day the questions about the level of OM multiply. One thing is certain, a great victory against FC Basel would do a lot of good for the supporters but also for the whole group.
