🧨 Highs and lows: how De Zerbi's adventure at Marseille went ✍️ | OneFootball

After 1 year and 7 months, Roberto De Zerbi leaves Marseille with a 57% win rate: the best figure at OM in the last 25 years. It was a mutual decision, as stated in the official statement, bringing an end to a relationship marked by highs and lows, some of which even the coach himself could not explain.

At the start of his adventure with OM, De Zerbi had warned: "With me, there is no grey, only black or white", and so it was, from last year up until the contract termination that took place overnight.

De Zerbi rebuilds Marseille

In August 2024, De Zerbi’s goal was to lay the new foundations for Marseille, who were coming off their worst season in the last 8 years: namely, the 8th place finish under Marcelino-Gattuso-Gasset. In the last 15 years, OM had only done worse in Bielsa’s final season (replaced by Passi and Michél).

A change was needed, and the management supported this need: Greenwood, Hojbjerg, Gouiri, Rowe, and Wahi (the latter two already departed), Rulli and more arrived. Aubameyang (top scorer the previous year), Guendouzi, Veretout, Sarr, and Ndiaye all left.

De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1 breathed new life into Greenwood, who had the best season of his career. The results came immediately, despite a few slip-ups (loss to Strasbourg) and some almost inevitable stumbles, like the defeat to PSG.

However, the playing system was not dogmatic: after a loss to Auxerre, he switched to 3-4-2-1, which remained until the end of the season, except for the last 3 matches. This formation highlighted the wide players – including Luis Henrique, who was later sold to Inter – ensured a broad and constant occupation of the opponent’s half, but exposed the team to opposition transitions.

The only crisis period was in March, when OM lost 3 games in a row against Lens, PSG, and Reims. It was a brief phase, overcome with a strong finish to the season that secured 2nd place in Ligue 1 and, above all, a return to the Champions League. Not a given, considering Nice and Lille (4th and 5th) finished just 5 points behind.

The "best month of his career" and the warning

The mentality shift was real and became visible to all in a documentary released in the summer: "Sans jamais rien lâcher", where the usual De Zerbi is seen. Demanding, almost obsessive, and functional to the project: the bond with the fans was total, and the Vélodrome supported him.

The transfer market took a lot away, especially Rabiot and Rowe at the end of August after a furious argument, in which De Zerbi came out as a strict disciplinarian, punishing both with the ultimate penalty: being sold. But the market also gave: Paixao, Weah, O'Riley (returned to Brighton), Aguerd, Vermeeren (benched after good performances), Pavard, and the return of Aubameyang.

The season began with some missteps but quickly recovered, so much so that at the end of October De Zerbi – according to the newspaper La Provence – confessed: "It’s the best month of my coaching career", but in a press conference he issued a warning after the win over Metz: "In Marseille, you need to worry when things start going too well."

In the Champions League, results were inconsistent, with emphatic wins (4-0 over Ajax), undeserved losses (Atalanta), and deserved ones (Real and Sporting). The problems became clear starting in January, when the team began to swing between excellent performances and sudden collapses, like the 2-0 loss to Nantes.

The final and the decline

A blow came in the French Super Cup final: played very well but lost on penalties to PSG, almost the manifesto of a peak that could never quite be reached, only brushed.

From that moment on, Marseille experienced inexplicable highs and lows: a thrashing of Angers and then a clear 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, a splendid win over Lens after which president Longoria said: "I want to make De Zerbi our Simeone".

A few days later, another Champions League blow arrived, 3-0 against Bruges, costing elimination. A few days later, De Zerbi was confident: "I think I have the strength to stay here another 5/6 years."

The reaction against Paris FC was immediate: leading 2-0, but the team collapsed at the end, conceding a 2-2 draw in the last 10 minutes. The match against PSG was the final test: a 5-0 defeat with no excuses and a team mentally shattered.

"I’m not in the players’ heads, I don’t know what’s happening. We prepared for the match as much as possible. I’ve never had such an unstable team" were among De Zerbi’s last words at OM, just 90 days after that "Best month of my career."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU - AFP or licensors