Every year, its Valentine's Day. Except that in Marseille, the celebration does not necessarily fall on February 14, but rather according to the coaches' changes of gear. And 2024 will be no exception. Not necessarily in Roberto De Zerbi's preferential plans when the Italian set down his bags in Marseille, the former Nantes midfielder is definitely winning the heart of his coach, and a permanent position. Even if his pass in the axis is the reason for Monaco's opening score this Sunday (2-1), the Phocaean produced a good copy overall, in the style we know from him, which risks to make it essential for future matches. It is also his story at OM, that of a player who is not in the plans of the new coaches (Tudor, Sampaoli), but who ends up being essential. Not only because he is a good football player and a recognized professional, but also because he presents a profile that is too rare in Canebière, and which – paradoxically – also shows the limits of this club.
The return of the surveyor
Injured for a large part of last season, we knew that the native of Mâcon would not immediately be back at 100%. Holder during the victories against Nice (2-0) and Lyon (2-3) in September, he finally lost his place, despite the success. He only played fourteen minutes in total over the next six matches, before taking advantage of the absences of Amine Harit and Ismaël Koné to reappear in the starting lineup in Lens (1-3) and push Rabiot to move up a notch on the ground. With a goal and a great performance in Bollaert, Rongier logically caught the eye of RDZ. “During these months of injury and recovery, I worked, I kept my mouth shut and today it’s paying off. These last few months have been very complicated for me, as you well know. But I'm very happy to have started this evening and I now hope to continue »he had enjoyed in the mixed zone.
“He was coming off eight months of injury, so he needed a bit of time. But I loved this player when I faced OM with Brighton”announced De Zerbi at a press conference before facing the Monegasques. For him, Rongier “is a surveyor” Who “puts order on the ground”. And above all, as he explained after the victory against the Asemists, he has an atypical profile: “He has a lot of qualities and unique characteristics within this team”. And it is for this reason, by his own admission, that he chose to leave him on the field rather than replace him with an attacker and bring Adrien Rabiot down when it was time to push to win the match.
There are several conclusions to be drawn from this permanent return of the player who has now been at the club the longest. First, magnificent resilience, especially given his latest injury. But also an admirable ability to always convince his various technicians that he is essential in the environment. But it also shows that despite the constant upheaval of the Marseille squad since the arrival of Pablo Longoria, no arrival has been able to put him on the bench for good. Which surely indicates a flaw in the recruitment unit since, as he showed on Sunday, he can sometimes be guilty of big blunders. And it can be revealing that a club like OM has such difficulty doing without a player of duty, certainly, but who will have difficulty making him change dimension.
Roberto De Zerbi: “The best match of the season at the Vélodrome”
