Arriving in Marseille just four months ago, Mason Greenwood has already established himself as OM's main offensive weapon. Without waiting for the controversy sparked by his transfer, OM had taken a certain number of measures to protect and integrate him, giving themselves the mission of letting football and only football speak.
A training session open in its entirety to the press may be enough to see that the OM staff are brooding over Mason Greenwood. Thursday, November 14, opposition on reduced ground at the Commanderie. The English striker is clearly above the rest, this is felt in each ball catch, or in each of his accelerations and strikes. “Right foot, left foot, it’s a phenomenon,” an intimate in the locker room had already warned in August, promising that the whole team was quite impressed by Greenwood’s qualities. OM's number 1 offensive asset, Roberto De Zerbi has no doubt. But the Italian must find the right balance with his star: encourage him when necessary, know how to poke him if necessary.
Encourage Greenwood, but know how to poke him when necessary
Last Thursday, it was time for “positive management”. “Good, Mason! Come on, Mason.” The first name of OM's top scorer is the one that resonates the most, within center Robert Louis-Dreyfus, and the staff's attention is often focused on him… Even if it means turning a blind eye if the Englishman is slightly in an offside position on a goal scored in training or if a ball may have crossed the boundaries of the field. When in doubt, it is better to give confidence to your 'star' attacker.
De Zerbi needs Greenwood at 100%, all the time, not just when he has the ball at his feet. His coach keeps telling him about it. 'He has to give more and I expect a lot from him,' RDZ recalled during an informal meeting with OM followers, before this same session. This ended with a one-on-one exchange between De Zerbi and Greenwood. The first with his hands on the shoulders of the second, who listened wisely and nodded without saying a word…
“Do not overprotect him or lie to him about his performance”
The Marseille coach believes that the potential of the former Manchester United player is immense and he sometimes has the feeling of seeing in Greenwood a gifted student who is content with his achievements but who does not always make every effort, for the collective. . The OM staff took care, during this November international break, to emphasize this point with the Englishman. And De Zerbi did not hesitate to shake him publicly, after his very bad first period against PSG. The Italian coach, who took him out at half-time, was blunt after the match: “I didn't like the way he played.”
“The idea is not to overprotect Greenwood and lie to him about his performances, by telling him that everything is always good,” we confide, internally, where we aspire for the attacker is treated like any other player. “When he is good, he must hear that he is good. When he has a bad match, he must know that he had a bad match.”
OM appreciates his behavior and is convinced that he made the right choice
It is this search for 'normality' that Pablo Longoria mentioned during the press conference presenting the English player. Given the sexual assault case in which he was involved, OM knew that his arrival would cause controversy. But the club and the player aspired for time to do its work, so that we could, little by little, talk about Mason Greenwood for his performances as a footballer, and only for his performances as a footballer.
Four months after his arrival, OM is convinced that they made the right choice by insisting on recruiting him. “His behavior has been excellent since his arrival in Marseille,” Longoria told the Spanish media 'Relevo' in September. “He has adapted very well. We are very proud to have Mason with us. Everything I was told about him at Getafe was confirmed. We took all the necessary information before taking the decision to sign him.”
A relationship of trust between his father and the leaders
Marseille has also done a lot to ensure that its adaptation goes as smoothly as possible. The Olympian leaders first had a very close relationship of trust with Greenwood's father. The latter lives alongside the player and his family. He accompanies him or picks him up during training. And regularly shares with OM the sensations of his foal. The ex from Manchester feels good in Marseille, even if the boy has a very ordinary life. “He’s an ultra homebody,” says a person close to the locker room. “He makes house, Commanderie; then Commanderie, house. At the training center, everyone agrees that he is a very polite and kind young man. And if he goes out, he is never alone . He is always a little worried and vigilant.”
“Polite” and “smiling” at the Commanderie, “very homebody” in life
Without falling into paranoia, OM was also on guard regarding him. The 'Player care' department (a sector specializing in the attention paid to players, which has been strengthened in recent months within the club), responsible for the integration of Olympians, their well-being and their security, has redoubled his efforts to make Greenwood feel cared for. OM feared that the player would sometimes be heckled and mishandled by the public during away matches. Marseille paid the greatest attention to this, even if it meant discussing it in advance with the opposing clubs. No fear, on the other hand, in Greenwood's relationship with the Marseille supporters. The Englishman stops from time to time, at the exit of the Commanderie. He had even braved a sudden downpour of rain, the week before OM-PSG, to take some photos, in the middle of the deluge, which made the OM fans present on site laugh.
Harit, Rowe, De Lange… already several friends in the locker room
Mason Greenwood often displays a big smile when he arrives at training. The Englishman has affinities with Amine Harit. He also forged links with his compatriot Jonathan Rowe or the Canadians Derek Cornelius and Ismaël Koné. The relationship is also very good between him and the youngest in the locker room, like Darryl Bakola. Finally, Jeffrey De Lange does not hold grudges. The 'second goalkeeper' often suffers in the cages, with Greenwood facing him in training sessions. The two boys like each other a lot and have gotten along in recent weeks. “Mason is very popular in the locker room,” confirmed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, at the start of the season, speaking to RMC Sport and BFM Marseille. But the Danish midfielder and other players, often asked about the English striker, do not want to put too much pressure on him by multiplying the praise. “We're not going to start talking about him as a star or as the best player, because he has to continue to work seriously and help the team. If he doesn't score, it doesn't matter, but he has to help the team,” added the former Tottenham player. De Zerbi couldn't have said it better.
Let the field speak, before exposing it in the media
By the way, when will we see Mason Greenwood at a press conference? Its latest is in fact its first in Marseille, and therefore dates back to the day of its official presentation. The angry and disturbing questions had been a little too insistent in the eyes of OM. But the player and the club also experienced it as an obligatory step, before respecting a plan: letting the pitch, and only the pitch, speak. While waiting to display it again in the media. “It’s logic and common sense,” we explain to the club. “We had to give him time to acclimatize. The athlete must take the upper hand, that was and always will be the priority. But we must neither hide him nor overexpose him.” In this quest towards 'normality', desired by OM, Greenwood, the club's top scorer, one of the players whose jersey is most purchased by supporters, will have to, one day, make his return in front of the microphones and cameras.
