Zerbi said he was looking forward to sitting on the bench at the Orange Vélodrome as OM coach and helping the club regain the status that Marseille deserves.
For OM’s American owner, Frank McCourt, De Zerbi’s arrival marks the start of an ambitious new chapter and is a key part of the club’s strategy for future success.
De Zerbi is “a talented and renowned coach at European level”, praised President Pablo Longoria, for whom this arrival marks the start of a new sporting cycle.
The search for a new coach began after the end of last season, when the club fired Jean-Louis Gasset. He came in to save the club’s season and stepped down after the end of his contract. This decision was made as OM found themselves without qualifying for the European Cup for the first time since the 2019/20 season.
After experiencing the atmosphere at the Vélodrome during Brighton’s Europa League match against Marseille last autumn, De Zerbi found the OM option appealing. With the benches at Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United already filled, he chose to join OM.
Originally from Brescia and having coached Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk, De Zerbi finally accepted OM’s offer. His arrival could influence the transfer window, leading some Marseille players to reconsider their decision to leave.
