FEATURE | Luis Henrique’s Marseille career revived after being snatched from under Lyon’s noses | OneFootball

Luis Henrique was all smiles as he fielded questions after Olympique de Marseille’s 2-0 victory in the Derby de la Mediterranée over OGC Nice. And why wouldn’t he be? For the first time since arriving from Três Passos in 2020, the Brazilian winger has been delivering on the promise that first accompanied him

Henrique completed a spectacular move eight minutes into the second half; the left winger cut in from the flank, drifting past a defence that was willing to allow him to run sideways as long as he didn’t enter the penalty box, a one-two with Amine Harit opened up the angle for the shot and the Brazilian winger let the ball fly from outside the area.

Momentum carried him forward as he watched the flight of the ball. Tracking the shot as it curled slightly past the outstretched Marcin Bułka and nestled safely into the top right-hand corner. Only then would he allow himself to wheel off in celebration. The winger might be playing with a new-found confidence, but there was still a sense of disbelief as to just how far he has come in such a short amount of time.

A winger who had only scored once before for Marseille in two-and-a-half seasons had now netted his third in four games, and a ‘goalazo’ at that. Asked to explain the goal, Henrique admitted almost everyone had been telling him to shoot more. He laughed as he recalled how his injured teammate Leonardo Balerdi in particular had told him incessantly “shoot, shoot, shoot.”

Botafogo loan and a Swiss army for Marseille

Last January, Henrique was at a crossroads in his young career. He was returning to Marseille after a year-and-a-half-long loan at former club Botafogo, the sister club of Marseille’s bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais. Botafogo had the option to make the deal permanent, but didn’t play Henrique enough to exercise the clause and appeared to have only a small interest in keeping the winger beyond what was an ultimately disappointing stay.

Les Phocéens similarly had no plans for the twenty-two-year-old beyond the winter transfer window and had lined up a move with another Brazilian club, Atlético Mineiro. If not for a last-minute intervention by Marseille’s manager at the time, Gennaro Gattuso, the winger would have been sent on his way.

Henrique had impressed Gattuso during a 2-2 draw with AS Monaco on the 28th of January and perhaps more importantly the manager was staring at a squad that had been decimated by injuries and prolonged absences with players competing at the Africa Cup of Nations. Gattuso did not last long beyond the winter window and was sacked in mid-February.

However, the Brazilian would remain a part of the Marseille squad under Gattuso’s successor Jean-Louis Gasset. The interim appointment had no faith in Henrique’s finishing but saw in him a Swiss army knife who could plug the gaps within the team, and perhaps even excel as a fullback. At the very least, Marseille saw it as a way of keeping the 22-year-old in the shop window ahead of a possible summer transfer.

A personal Choc des Olympiques for Luis Henrique

The spark behind the transformation of the Brazilian from a useful squad player into a game changer has been obvious. The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi in Marseille has brought radical change across La Provence, and Henrique has benefited deeply from a manager who trusts his winger implicitly, not simply as a misfiring option but as a decisive first choice.

Henrique has pointed out how liberating his manager’s trust has been, “The coach gave me a lot of confidence. I can play as I did before in Brazil, it gives me strength too.” And the reward for Marseille has been huge, and more than a little bit sweet with the winger stolen from under the nose of Lyon’s owners.

After an impressive start to the season, Les Phocéens have the chance to draw level with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table if they can secure a victory over Lyon. A trip to the Groupama stadium is seen as a chance for Marseille to state their title intentions against their arch-rivals and to prove that this could be an exciting year on the south coast.

And perhaps for Henrique, it is the chance to prove himself to the John Textor network of clubs by showing them the player they could have owned if they had allowed themselves to trust in his abilities. For there are surely more than a few Lyon supporters looking enviously south and wondering what could have been if their sister club had exercised their option.

GFFN | Nick Hartland