Eric Di Meco, former OM defender now consultant for RMC Sport, considers Leonardo Balerdi's level too fair for Marseille's higher ambitions.
Leonardo Balerdi's recent performances leave Eric Di Meco perplexed. In Rothen ignites on RMC on Monday, the former OM defender, now a consultant for RMC Sport, points out the Argentinian's limits, exposed on Sunday during the draw against Strasbourg (1-1). The Marseille defender and captain was manhandled by Emanuel Emegha, author of the Strasbourg goal on a deep call which surprised his bodyguard… Balerdi.
“To get over it, I don’t think you can count on him.”
“Balerdi, you can’t count on him to be your boss,” says Di Meco. “Last year, it wasn't a big season that he had, it was the second half of the season. Mbemba was next to him and made his job easier with his experience and his eye. When you see At the end of last season and the armband, he needs to have two boys around him like Kondogbia or Murillo to solidify this defense.”
“On Sunday's match, when he is with poor Brassier – who is being given a little more chance but who is shaky – and Cornelius – who is already just on the left and who is going to play on the right – and facing guys who play depth like Emegha, it's too complicated for him. When Balerdi is good, it's not a good sign to go over, I don't think you can count on him.
-Eric Di Meco is not the only one to take a critical look at Balerdi's performance on Sunday. Emanuel Emegha, Strasbourg striker, also criticized the Argentinian's behavior. “As you could see, he couldn't catch me so he tried to touch me, to talk to me,” he said on DAZN before launching, in French: “But it's a small for me.” He hit the nail on the head in English: “As everyone saw, all he did was fight, talk… It's not football. Just play football.”
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