In the columns of Corriere Della Sera, Pablo Longoria told an anecdote which says a lot about the die-hard character of Roberto De Zerbi.
Pablo Longoria obviously had quite a surprise when he arrived on the pitch at the Robert-Louis-Dreyfus training center. As he tells the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, the president of Olympique de Marseille experienced a little misunderstanding with Roberto De Zerbi.
>> Relive De Zerbi's press conference before the trip to Lens
“One day he asked me what the budget was to buy an electronic board to explain the diagrams. I replied that there was no problem, convinced that he would buy an iPad. I ended up on the training ground with a giant screen, like those used in stadiums,” says Longoria.
Of Zerbi, an “excessive, compulsive, bloodthirsty” coach?
Longoria's confidences on the starting point of negotiations with De Zerbi
Speaking to the Italian newspaper, the OM boss also returned to the starting point of the negotiations with De Zerbi. “It was the time when I was looking for a coach,” recalls Pablo Longoria. “A friend calls me and gives me the advice: 'De Zerbi is resigning from Brighton next week. Don't use this information.' I phone Edo Crnjar, Roberto's agent, and I say to him: 'I know it's impossible but I'll try'.”
Longoria would then have convinced him “with transparency, passion and thanks to the project”. “Roberto followed his heart, I believe that the enthusiasm of a city and a public like that of Marseille, 49,000 subscribers, had an impact,” concludes the Spanish leader.
