Exceptional guest of the show Rothen ignites this Tuesday on RMC, Medhi Benatia returned to Roberto De Zerbi’s statements after the rout of Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1 against Auxerre (1-3). The Marseille sports advisor reaffirmed his confidence in the Italian coach and praised his human qualities and his tremendous passion.
By proposing his departure after the home defeat against Auxerre (1-3), Roberto De Zerbi revived fears of instability on the OM bench. But if some may have believed in frying on the line or in tensions between the Italian technician and his managers, this is not the case. Guest of the show Rothen ignites this Tuesday on RMC, Medhi Benatia was very clear: he has total confidence in Roberto De Zerbi.
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“In a match like that, there is no need to hide. It is unacceptable. We talk about the project, patience, we talk about time. With all the respect I have for Auxerre, when you are OM you can’t allow yourself to show a face like that. It was unacceptable and I think that it was also this performance that also made the coach aware of what he saw… I think that. the coach also suffered on the bench, like us and the supporters we suffered,” said the Marseille sports advisor on the eve of the Marseille team’s resumption of training. “I think that him, on the bench, must not have recognized his team and that is why we arrived, in quotes, at these declarations.”
“When you know the character, you know he fits exactly with this city”
Obviously not bothered by Roberto De Zerbi’s media outburst after OM’s sad performance against Auxerre, Medhi Benatia justified his point of view. The relationship between the manager and the coach is such that the Italian’s words confirm precisely why it is the best possible choice for the team.
“You have to know the coach. Before going with a coach like De Zerbi, we knew very well the character he is. He is someone who, and I’m not even talking about the tactician who is no longer even to present, I’m talking about the man who lives for football”, continued the former central defender who notably spent time with Bayern Munich and Juventus. “It’s his passion, he says it and also said it to the players. At the start of the season we said that there were clubs like Manchester United on him and people didn’t believe us. It came out in the press and people understood that he was spoiled for choice and that he chose Olympique de Marseille. This motivated him, and that’s what he said. from the start when we called him with the president, it was this Vélodrome side and this passion.”
Before continuing: “When you know the character, you know that he fits exactly with this city. He is love, it is football, it is passion and when he sees the team like that he said to me: ‘Medhi if it’s me the problem don’t hesitate, I don’t need the money, we know that very well because he left his contract at Brighton and that’s not the case’. to come and hide here, on the contrary, I find that when we speak. of men and responsibilities, took away from him The confidence we have in him, I don’t even need to talk about it because, for me, having a coach like De Zerbi in Ligue 1 is. “He’s earned respect in Italy, he’s earned respect in England. And you can see it in the reaction of the players.”
Benatia excited by the passionate De Zerbi
Despite the failures at home against AJA and especially against PSG (0-3), Marseille occupies third place in the Ligue 1 standings after eleven days. If the supporters have held back the snags at the Vélodrome, the team led by Roberto De Zerbi is in the running for qualification in the Champions League. Without completely validating it, Medhi Benatia understands her trainer’s anger in the face of the press.
“I can’t say that his speech is normal or coherent. But I’m just saying that, as I know him very well because we spend a lot of time together on the phone or locked in an office, he is a man who is like that”, slipped the OM sports advisor again during his appearance on RMC in the show Rothen ignites. “This guy only lives on passion. When we won in Nantes 2-1, he told me: ‘Medhi I didn’t like the second half, that’s not what I wanted’ . He was almost not happy. Afterwards he highlighted the heart side and the first 35 minutes of very good quality that we had.”
“He wants to see his team master, he wants to see his team play, he wants to see the ideas he puts into training throughout the week on the pitch, he wants to see his team win at the Vélodrome, he wants to see this audience , he wants to see this stadium.”
“De Zerbi is a little excessive, a little impulsive”
Anxious to see his team play good football and anxious to win, Roberto De Zerbi does not hide his feelings when things do not please him. But behind that, he also knows how to quickly move on to something else to accomplish his task.
“The coach, he suffers because it’s not his team, he doesn’t recognize it. Afterwards, I’m not saying that his statements are right. There we see that Roberto is a bit like that… He’s a bit excessive, he is a little impulsive, he is like all of us a little sanguine”, finally judged Medhi Benatia on the Italian. “But on Wednesday when it resumes it will start again and he knows very well that for us, in any case, there is not even a discussion. He is the man for the situation, he is a golden guy. I remember more the fact that with Roberto you won’t have the ‘I’m leaving, I’m the problem, we have to discuss and find an arrangement’ No, this guy lives for football. “
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