Javier Clemente at OM, the Spanish Napoleon among the eccentrics | OneFootball

Javier Clemente, a vivid character and storied figure in Spanish football, left Marseille with one of the poorest records in the club’s history, according to L'Équipe.

His brief French stint came unstuck at a club that seemed even more restless than he was.

One former player once remarked that, when he smoked, it looked as if he were chewing nettles. In Marseille, those scenes felt familiar.

Ex-OM forward Cyrille Pouget, who played for the club from 1999 to 2002, recalls Clemente as the only coach he ever saw light up in the dressing room, the image that stayed with him.

Pouget adds that, because the coach was not very tall, the ash hit the floor quickly, leaving him looking like a character out of a film.

A quarter of a century on, little more than a scatter of ash and smoky recollections remains of Clemente’s fleeting time in Marseille.

Source: L'Équipe

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