Jorge Sampaoli reunites with OM, his “old love”

A long-awaited moment. Saturday evening (9:05 p.m.), as part of the 17^e day of Ligue 1, Jorge Sampaoli will find, with Stade Rennais FC, Olympique de Marseille, two and a half years after his departure from Bouches-du-Rhône as shattering as it was surprising.

Olympique de Marseille, a club in its image

This meeting – otherwise important for both teams but for different reasons – will certainly be special for the Argentinian. Even though he only spent a year and a half there, “El Pelado” (the bald one) left an indelible mark on La Canebière. It must be said that he was made to train the Olympic team. Indeed, in Marseille, the native of Casilda (Argentina) found a club that reflects his image: vibrant and passionate. And with him, the Phocaeans have found a technician worthy of their motto: “Straight to the goal”. So it made sense that this marriage would work well.

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It was during the season, on March 8, 2021, that the man who is considered one of the disciples of Marcelo Bielsa – another coach who left his mark on the minds of Marseille – took the reins of the first team, then in difficulty. in the championship. Under his leadership, she nevertheless managed to secure an (unexpected) European qualification at the end of the season. During the summer, the Marseille leaders transformed the professional squad, recruiting numerous players compatible with the playing principles of the winner of the 2015 Copa América (with Chile). And unsurprisingly, the results are there in 2021-2022: a second place in Ligue 1 (far behind Paris SG) and elimination in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. All this, while deploying a spectacular game, always carried forward with players such as William Saliba, Mattéo Guendouzi and Dimitri Payet. All the lights were green…until the former Albiceleste coach decided to resign, against all expectations, on 1^is July 2022, due to disagreements with its management regarding the summer transfer window.

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“It’s like an old love. »

Jorge Sampaoli on his time at Olympique de Marseille.

Despite this unexpected end, Jorge Sampaoli has (very) good memories of his time on the Canebière. Perhaps also because it is his last successful experiment. “Marseille, for me, is like an old love. I was really liked there and I really liked this club“, he said at a press conference last Thursday, in comments reported by The Phocaean . However, the Argentine coach does not regret his hasty departure: “It’s too late to have regrets. I left because they had made contractual decisions that I didn’t necessarily agree with. Out of respect for the president, I preferred to take a step aside“, he assured.

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From now on, the Stade Rennais FC technician does not intend to give the Phocéens any gifts: “Life goes on, I will do everything for my team to win this match, knowing that we are going to play against one of the best teams in the championship, a physical team.he said. Before recalling: “My first match [avec l’OM, NDLR]it was against Rennes and we gave them a bad time. I hope that tomorrow we will have a very bad time at Olympique de Marseille.» That’s clear.