On the eve of the reception of LOSC in the round of 16 of the Cup (this Tuesday 9:10 p.m.), Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi and his coach Roberto De Zerbi were present at a press conference.
The Coupe de France is “obviously» a goal for OM: while the Marseille club is sailing at an excellent pace in the championship, it is not losing sight of the other national trophy, the conquest of which requires a success against Lille on Tuesday at the Vélodrome. “In our common room, we have posters with all the trophies won by OM», Said Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi on Monday.
The one that recalls Marseille’s last Cup success must be starting to turn a little yellow under its frame. It dates from 1989, the Marseille captain was Jean-Pierre Papin, that of the finalist, Monaco, was Jean-Luc Ettori and the President of the Republic was François Mitterrand. “Yes, it’s been 35 years. It’s been a long time since OM won it. So the Coupe de France is a goal, obviously. Bringing a title would be good», imagined the Argentine captain of OM.
«The final is very far away», tempers De Zerbi
A little more cautious, his coach asked to wait a bit to talk about the title, recalling that OM was only at the round of 16 stage and that the opponent scheduled for Tuesday, Lille, 5th in Ligue 1, looked good. “We live to win, we don’t do things to lose, but before talking about the title, we have to talk about tomorrow’s match. The final is very far away», explained Roberto De Zerbi, who added that the Cup was “notnot a second competition but a first, like the championship».
In L1 precisely, his team is going at full speed with a nice current series of five victories and a draw, to which we can add the success obtained in the Cup in Saint-Étienne (0-4). In their last seven matches, OM have only been held back once, by Lille, already at the Vélodrome (1-1), after a clash of an excellent level.
«It’s going to be another great match to play. Lille are a great team and the last match at the Vélodrome was magnificent“, noted Balerdi. “We had conceded quite a few chances, it’s true“, also remembered the Argentinian. “We played very well but against these kinds of teams, small mistakes can end in goals. Geronimo (Rulli) had been incredible and they had failed a bit. We clearly know the things we did wrong and we are going to do them well. I have confidence, we will have a big match and get through this round“, he added.
«No gifts» in the starting lineup
Incredible against Lille, Rulli was incredible again on Saturday in Rennes (2-1) and he invited the Marseille supporters to come in large numbers to the Vélodrome, which he hopes “full like the Bombonera» despite the unfavorable schedule (9:10 p.m. on weekdays). The Argentine goalkeeper may not start on Tuesday – De Zerbi left the mystery hanging – but for the rest, OM should field their best team of the moment.
«I won’t give gifts. Those who give me the most guarantees of winning will play. Football is meritocracy, or at least it should be. I am against the Superleague because I think those who deserve it should play. It’s the same for the team I put on the field“, explained the Italian.
The former Brighton coach also knows that it will take a very good Marseille to beat Lille anyway, even if Bruno Genesio’s team remains in two draws in the league. “We have to sleep with one eye closed and one eye open because everything could stop tomorrow,” said De Zerbi, satisfied with his team’s progress and results, but cautious. “I don’t have too many gray hairs yet, but enough to know that halfway through the season, nothing is done“, he warned.
