He arrived at OM at the beginning of March 2021, better ranked (8th) than Rennes today, but in a crisis at least as important, in the middle of a deleterious climate with the supporters, and just after a change of president as well. (Pablo Longoria had replaced Jacques-Henri Eyraud)…
Before Jorge Sampaoli speaks this Tuesday to the Rennes media, we must reread the words he said in Marseille, at the time of his induction. At the time, he had replaced the highly contested André Villas-Boas, after an interim period from Nasser Larguet.
READ ALSO. What is the Sampaoli style really?
“We are in the process of evaluating the workforce in the short term, to make decisions in the medium and long term. If you know my teams, we want to focus more on the opponent's goal than our own.
There is a crisis of results, and the mind is important. We will try to return to our roots, amateurism, the fundamentals, with rhythm, the desire to play.
It's a matter of seeing if this group of players has the greatness to wear this jersey. We will try to offer tools to get out of the difficult times the club is going through. Ideally, we must convince and seduce this group that we must become protagonists on the ground.
For me, football is a game, from the start to the end of the match. Some players adapt very quickly, others take longer, and some will not adapt. The role of the staff is to convince them, seduce them, and restore the image of the club.
“That the player feels the same as the supporter about the logo, the jersey”
“The language barrier? The most difficult thing is to establish a footballing language. This communication with the players, with the people, to move forward, is also fundamental. This doesn’t just require practicing a local language, you need to have a passion in common.
The player must also feel the same way as the supporter about the logo or the jersey that we represent. In today's football we have forgotten it a little, and I always try to remind it, it is the essence of the footballer. Playing to win and playing for the jersey are things that unite us, that bring us together. And we need unity right now, otherwise the project will fall apart. This is the message I will convey to the players.
READ ALSO. Degemer mate Jorge Sampaoli, and above all good luck!
The playing system will be linked to the opponents, but also to the implementation of the assets we have at the club. What I will bring is to put the players in their preferred positions. The system has a lot to do with the characteristics of the players, the style, no. the style is exclusively linked to the characteristics of the coach. I don't think I've ever negotiated with the style, it's impossible. »
