Olympique de Marseille introduced their new coach, Marcelino, at a press conference on Tuesday. Alongside president Pablo Longoria, a “friend”, the 57-year-old coach dissected (in Spanish) his vision of football, his ambition for OM and his short-term expectations. Unlike his predecessor Igor Tudor, he will rely on zone marking and a four-man defense. Time is running out: OM will play the 3rd qualifying round for the Champions League in early August.
“Let me first talk about my admiration for the club, its history, its supporters. I would like to thank the owner Franck McCourt, the president Pablo Longoria and all their team who have confidence in us (him and his staff) for this project. We have a lot of enthusiasm to take up this challenge, in one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
We know that we are arriving at a historic club, the only French club to have the Champions League in its window. We have a method, we believe in our present and future project to take up this challenge with a lot of ambition but also a lot of effort, humility and hard work. In the previous clubs where we were, we always achieved the objectives that had been set for us. We will have to be competitive from the first to the last game.
Our proposal will be to play with a lot of intensity, a dynamic team. We know the history and values of Olympique de Marseille. Our philosophy will stick to these values. Today, the OM slogan, “straight to the point”, becomes our slogan too. We have to see it on the field. We know the requirements of the supporters, we have to work with that. Now is the time to work more and talk less.”
“We’ve been together for 20 years (with his staff), we have a very clear vision of what we want to do. Regarding the style of play, we like to have an organized team because we believe that balance is the basis of success. We also want such a dynamic and attractive team. It makes us optimistic because we think we have a similar idea of what fans like here. We hope that by winning matches, we can make them proud.”
“We saw several matches last season. We saw the idea that the team had. It will be rather different from what we intend to do, especially defensively. We will have to work fast, well and a lot so that the team is ready as soon as possible. I am convinced that we will be ready quickly.”
“Our organization will depend on the players of course. It won’t deviate much from the 4-4-2. We can go to 4-2-3-1 too, it’s a very similar pattern, it depends on the profiles of the attacking players. We also have the possibility of playing in 4-3-3. We will not change our system all the time depending on the opponent. We want to focus on ourselves first, to instill an idea in the players that will allow us to be competitive as quickly as possible.
“Everyone wants a squad closed as quickly as possible, but in today’s football, we know that’s impossible. I don’t know if I’m unlucky, but it’s never happened to me in my career to have a full squad before the start of the season. Maybe we should think about changing the rules… We have until August 31. No team is fully ready before the start of the season.
“What we think is that we have to mark the times. Today, the time is to know and build. Then there should be no difference. The only mentality is to win the matches, regardless of the competitions. It is this mentality that we must instill in all players. If you are walking up a flight of stairs and looking far ahead, you may trip over the next step. You have to be focused every week, every workout. We want to show everyone, and especially the fans, that we want to win every match.
“In football, I absolutely respect all ideas, all styles. The most important thing for us is that all the players manage to identify with what we want. I can assure you that we will not see any individual marking in the season. It doesn’t mean it’s not good, just that I see football in a different way. We will play 80-90% of matches with a four-man defense and zonal marking. Again, it will depend on the players we have. Counter-pressing, personally I love it, the main European teams use it today. If the teams that win the Champions League apply it, it may be that we should take inspiration from it.
“Everyone has their own concept of friendship. For me, a colleague and a friend, it is absolutely not the same. A friend is someone you know will always be there and will help you when you need it. The colleague is the one who will tap you on the shoulder to tell you that you are fine. Pablo is someone I’ve known for 20 years. He is a person I consider my friend. But friendship does not change professionalism or abilities. Today, I am an OM coach. I know it’s thanks to my work but also to that of my team. No matter what happens professionally here, Pablo will remain my friend.”
“Regarding “Kondo” – I called him that – it’s true that we had the chance to work with him in Valencia. For me, he is a world class player. I would like to point out that this is a transfer made before my arrival, it is not a personal request from my staff. There were already advanced negotiations before I discussed with President Longoria.
“He is a very, very great coach, it is quite incredible to see two Asturians from Gijon who will train PSG and OM. It’s football, it’s life. It might seem difficult, but here we are. I have a lot of respect for him. I wish him good luck professionally, but not when he plays against us.”
“It is true that we will have to make some changes in this workforce, we have been discussing it for a while. We will need different player profiles. Compared to last year’s style, there were a lot of players in the middle, inside the field. We want more side players.
We all have to talk to convince ourselves of the same decision. I will give my opinion. The final decision will not be mine, I want to make it clear. We have to see which players we can bring to the club within a budget that has been established. I will get to know the squad better every day, it will give us more information. The Velodrome stadium? I came to play there in 1985, during the Toulon Tournament with Spain under 20. We played against France. We lost 1-0 on a goal from Jean-Pierre Papin!”
“We like to talk a lot, to be close to the players. This dialogue will be stronger and stronger if there is sincerity. Sincerity is a fundamental value for us in human relations. From there, we must defend OM, we must help each other, show solidarity and be a team. When we are in difficulty, we must know how to reverse the situation if necessary. For that, you also need to know the workforce. That’s why I insist on the fact that we must have this workforce, and then make a team. For that we have to find players but also people compatible with our idea. We must not rush, make as few mistakes as possible.