Olympique de Marseille officially announced this Wednesday that the Spanish Marcelino García Toral is no longer the club’s coach. The tension that the French team is experiencing “does not allow Marcelino and his coaching staff to perform in good conditions the functions for which they were hired,” the club said in a statement.
Marcelino arrived at Marseille on June 23 to replace the Croatian Igor Tudor, who did not want to continue leading the team after one season, and has only directed seven official matches, in which he failed to qualify for the Champions League and only reaped two wins in five league games.
The departure of the Spanish coach was taken for granted after the coach announced it to some players and club employees this Tuesday and after not being part this Wednesday of the Marseille expedition that headed to Amsterdam to play against Ajax in the first game. of the Europa League this Thursday.
The club pointed out that Marcelino’s departure, which does not specify whether it is a resignation or a dismissal, occurs after the violent meeting that the club’s leaders, with the president, Pablo Longoria, at the head, held last Monday with representatives of the main fan associations of the club with the most popular following in France.
In it they asked for the resignation of Longoria, a great supporter of Marcelino, who, faced with that pressure, decided to temporarily step away from the position. “The club as a whole is extremely disappointed to have to face the departure of a coach and a coaching staff (…) for non-sporting reasons,” Marseille added.
Olympique, the only French club to win a Champions League (1993), is in full storm after the 0-0 draw in front of its fans last Sunday against Toulouse, in the middle of a mediocre game, which caused a big fight in the stands. and reinforced the divorce with the crowd.
Marcelino was a personal bet for Longoria, with whom he shares a long friendship. Both already shared a club in Valencia. Fans accuse the president of benefiting his friends, in addition to not having treated historical figures like Steve Mandanda or Dimitri Payet well.
The French media indicate that the club’s sports director, also Spaniard Javier Ribalta, preferred another, more modern coach profile.
The tension has turned the club into a tinderbox at a key moment of the season, before its first duel in the Europa League and a few days before the “classic” against Paris Saint-Germain next Sunday at the Parc des Princes.
Olympique will face these two events in the midst of a crisis. Jacques Abardadonado, historic footballer of the club and member of Marcelino’s coaching staff, will sit on the Johan Cruyff bench in Amsterdam this Thursday, while he will be supported in his work by David Friio, current sports director of the entity.
Longoria, who has worked at several clubs, became president of Marella in January 2021 after fans forcibly took over the club’s training center demanding the departure of his predecessor, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, appointed by the owner. , American billionaire Frank McCourt.
In this time, the club has had two consecutive seasons of finishing on the podium in the French league, something that Olympique had not achieved since 2011. However, its last major title dates back to 2010, when it won the French League with Didier Deschamps as coach. .
Olympique has not had luck with the benches, where they have seen the Argentine Jorge Sampaoli abruptly leave the position, dissatisfied with the transfer policy of the management and Igor Tudor, which led to the appointment of Marcelino, a bad decision accepted by the stands, who preferred a more prestigious coach.
The elimination in the previous rounds of the Champions League and the team’s poor play have ended up clouding the atmosphere and placing Marseille on the brink of the precipice.
