There’s a big club in France in turmoil, with aggressive ultras completely dictating the decisions in the boardroom… and it’s not Paris Saint-Germain.
Marseille travel to the French capital on Sunday for the biggest match on the Ligue 1 calendar, without a manager and almost without a president. He temporarily quit midweek before returning yesterday with threats of legal action against the ultras.
And all this as Marseille face PSG who, despite their worst start to the season since the Qataris took over in 2011, look more like a football team than at any other point in that period.
Their start was so rough: PSG is in the table among Sunday’s rivals. But it is Marseille whose coach was forced out after seven games this week, virtually on the orders of their most radical fans. The ultras are in charge in Marseille. It’s hard to think of an alternative story.
For years they were spoiled with scheduled meetings in which they asked the club directors for explanations. It may smell like democracy, but ultimately it stinks like mafia rule.
Marseille’s ultras are incredibly influential and demanded at a meeting on Monday that the president, manager and director of football leave
Manager Marcelino was forced out just seven games after joining the club in the summer
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At one such meeting on Monday, the ultras demanded that Spanish president Pablo Longoria of Marseille, his coach Marcelino and football director Javier Ribalta all leave the club.
Longoria described the encounter in an interview with La Provence as “very unpleasant.” He said he was able to talk for a few minutes and then came the barrage in which “a line was crossed”, with the ultras threatening “war” if they did not get what they wanted.
Longoria had temporarily resigned as president, genuinely concerned about the nature of the threats.
He has been on the wrong side of campaigns before. Suggestions that he might siphon off money from transfers led to him voluntarily releasing all information from his bank accounts in France and Spain, to the eventual complete satisfaction of club owner Frank McCourt.
The American magnate bought Marseille in 2016 after selling the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. McCourt said in a statement this week: “The situation that occurred on Monday and which led to the resignation of Marcelino and his staff is unacceptable. The incident is one of many that undermine what we are trying to build.”
Marcelino was only seven games into his tenure as head coach. Marseille are unbeaten in the league and third in Ligue 1. They lost a Champions League qualifier to Panathinaikos on penalties and played their first Europa League match under caretaker manager Jacques Abardonado on Thursday.
He called up Azzedine Ounahi and Amine Harit and the two – out of favor with Marcelino (and that may be something he misunderstood) – helped Marseille to a 3-3 draw at Ajax.
But defensively the team has been a soufflé and there are major concerns about what Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani could do to them on Sunday.
Pablo Longorio has returned as president after temporarily stepping down amid ultra-threats
PSG is behind Marseille, but is rediscovering some peace under new boss Luis Enrique
Which brings us to the calm spirit of PSG, where the circus left town in the summer and a football team emerged.
Mbappe never needed Neymar and a veteran Lionel Messi next to him; he needed a midfield that would work and get behind him, and that’s what he has now. Portuguese Vitinha is only 23, Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte is 22 and French star Warren Zaire-Emery is only 17.
New head coach Luis Enrique wants to make that midfield the heartbeat of his team. He has installed a work ethic and level of organization that should ensure that last season’s terrible defensive record of 40 goals conceded is not repeated.
Tuesday’s 2-0 win at home against Borussia Dortmund does not result in a winning campaign in the Champions League. But their second football-style goal, with right-back Achraf Hakimi arriving in the centre-forward area to finish, is a taste of the way Luis Enrique wants them to play.
Luis Enrique sees winning the league as the necessary precursor to success in the Champions League. Much of PSG’s slow home start has been due to teething problems and Mbappe’s gradual reintegration into the squad.
They should set a milestone on Sunday, against a club whose current travails dwarf last season’s boos for Messi and the echoes at the gates of Neymar’s mansion.
Bellingham is ready to add to the pain for Simeone
Diego Simeone has had a tough week and it could not end well on Sunday evening with the Madrid derby being played on home ground and England goalscoring machine Jude Bellingham being retired.
The Atletico Madrid coach said last week’s 3-0 defeat to Valencia was possibly their worst performance since taking charge 11 years ago.
Midway through the week, Atletico cruised to a 1-0 win over Lazio in their Champions League opener when Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel headed in the equalizer with the final kick of the match from a corner. He was easy to recognize because he was the only one wearing gloves and a yellow jersey.
Jude Bellingham has been in formidable form for Real Madrid and can carry that into Sunday’s derby
It could end a painful week for Diego Simeone after a 3-0 defeat to Valencia and Lazio’s equalizer at the death in midweek
Provedel has the form to score goals, having played as a striker until he was 15. In 2020, he also scored as a goalkeeper for Juve Stabia in Serie B, earning his team a final 2–2 draw at Ascoli.
All this came within a week for Simeone as Joao Felix scored three goals in two games for Barcelona – after joining on loan from Atletico on transfer deadline day – as Xavi’s side recorded their first back-to-back 5- 0 wins achieved. Messi left the club.
Can it get any worse? On Sunday evening, Bellingham and Madrid will go out to show Simeone that it can be done.
Can Xabi Alonso thwart Kane’s mission in Munich?
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen finished top of the Bundesliga last weekend after drawing 2-2 against Bayern Munich. And on Thursday they put four past Swedish side BK Hacken to kick off their Europa League campaign in style.
“This is a process,” reasoned Alonso, who was not entirely satisfied with how often his team relinquished control of possession in midweek.
‘We have to try to stay at this level for 90 minutes. We shouldn’t always play forward so quickly after winning the ball. There are times when it’s better to just maintain maximum control.’
After just four league games, it is clear that Alonso’s perfectionism is the biggest threat to Harry Kane winning the Bundesliga in his first season.
Xabi Alonso has Bayer Leverkusen ahead of Bayern Munich and is building a reputation as one of Europe’s smartest managers