This is a subject which fueled the debates on the Canebière all week: Jean-Pierre Papin maintains very fresh relations with Ali Zarrak, the manager of the Pro 2 team of theMarseille Olympic. Asked about this supposed conflict, Roberto De Zerbi wanted to clarify things.
“I wanted to clarify an important point, I have been at the heart of controversies relating to Jean-Pierre Papin. What was written falsely was invented. I have a good relationship with Papin. I arrived after him at OM, I respect him, because of his great history at the club, because of his age too, he is older than me. I have always greeted everyone at the club, from the storekeeper to the gardener, I have no problems with anyone, and with this Papin controversy, I fell off my chair. “, explained the Italian technician.
“It’s not okay to get into controversies”
« I have always tried to be as respectful as possible with the press, continued De Zerbi at a press conference. If it is to talk about my work, to criticize it, I accept it, you can write that OM is playing badly or has suffered deplorable defeats against Strasbourg or Paris-SG. But it’s not right for me to get involved in controversies like this.”
“I sometimes talk with Jean-Pierre, we rarely see each other, but everything is fine when we meet. I'm glad he denied it. I have no problems at OM, neither with him, nor with anyone else. If I have one, I'll be the first to tell you. Just have respect and correctness towards me,” concluded the OM coach. The message got through.
