The Stade Vélodrome will be sold out (65,500 supporters) for OM-Nice this Saturday, September 14 and will also celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary, as well as the birthdays of two groups of supporters: the MTP (Marseille Trop Puissant, North bend) and the CU84 (South bend), all in a southern derby with a strong rivalry between Marseillais and Niçois.
There is no room for apprehension for the Marseillais before returning to the Vélodrome this Saturday against the Aiglons, but on the contrary, a lot of excitement. “We have to be excited, because we are playing in a full stadium, we are privileged. But we also have to keep calm, remain serene and fair”, said Geoffrey Kondogbia, this Friday, before minimizing the impact that the whistles from the Vélodrome could have had on Elye Wahi and this feeling of impatience from the Marseille supporters, at the heart of a season where OM is looking good, certainly, but needs a little time to turn at full speed.
De Zerbi: “I would like all my players to understand Marseille”
So, can this exacerbated passion of the supporters be a burden for Marseille? It was following this question that Roberto De Zerbi, very respectful towards OM, its history and its city, had demonstrated a few days ago that he did not need a long period of adaptation to understand where he had set foot.
“When you play football in a city like Marseille, you have to understand what city you are in,” the Italian coach asks… like a request addressed to his group. “There is a beautiful phrase that says that to be happy in Marseille, you have to understand Marseille, and feel Marseille. I think I feel it, I know where I am. And I would like all my players to understand Marseille. Like many cities in Italy, especially those in the South, there is excess. There can be exaggeration in both directions. In the good, because there are 50,000 season ticket holders, a stadium full two hours before the match and perhaps some slightly disproportionate reactions like those whistles for Wahi. But conversely, if he had scored three goals, we would have spoken of him… as the future Drogba! You just have to accept it and know where you are.”
The whistling from part of the Vélodrome had irritated some supporters
Accepting Marseille, its spontaneous reactions and its paradoxes. After the match against Reims, many Marseille supporters were actually annoyed… to have heard part of the stadium whistle, so quickly and so loudly, Elye Wahi, for his first match at home, in his new colours. “The Vélodrome sometimes resonates loudly and I didn’t have the feeling that the whistles were coming down from the bends”, specifies a leader of a group of supporters. “And it doesn’t matter, there was nothing mean. Some showed a little discontent, but it wasn’t an outcry, just disappointment, frustration after these missed opportunities. A nice bit of pressure. And we will support Wahi in the next match, there is no debate.”
Kondogbia promises that Wahi is not worried
The question might not even arise. Elye Wahi, who has had muscle problems for three days, is uncertain. And whatever happens, he is not at all worried about returning to the Vélodrome, says his teammate Geoffrey Kondogbia. “Whistles are part of a player’s career, they build experience. He is not worried.” The same message from Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who sees this Vélodrome as an asset, and nothing else: “We are lucky… We are lucky to have such passionate supporters at our backs. Marseille, there is pressure, it’s normal. If you don’t want pressure, you’ll play somewhere else!”, he confided this week to RMC Sport and BFM Marseille. A speech that must have pleased the Marseille supporters. Najet Rami, a loyal OM supporter, agrees: “Before signing up to OM, a player must know the demands of the Vélodrome. Whistling Wahi for his debut was a bit harsh, but it shouldn’t undermine him, it just stings. You need mental strength to play for OM.”
- RMC Sport
