Guest writer and Marseille fan Jessy Caiado tells us how Didier Deschamps has gotten l’OM’s title bid back on track.
Basking in the glory of their 2-1 midweek victory over OGC Nice in Coupe de la Ligue semi-final, Marseille are confirming week by week that they are back in business as Deschamp’s side continue to compete for four trophies. Wednesday night at Stade Velodrome, Loïc Rémy cracked the first goal of the game before being rejoined by Anthony Mounier’s unexpected equaliser right before half-time. “New signing” Brandao who recently returned from an awkward trip in Amazonia finally confirmed OM’s safe passage to the Cup final, where they will face Olympique Lyonnais in April.
The question is, do Marseille have any chance of winning the Ligue 1 title as Deschamps finally seems to have pulled the magical formula out of his hat? There’s an African proverb that says; if you don’t know where you are going, look into your past and see where you come from. Let’s take a look backwards then.
Who would have thought that Marseille would be in Ligue 1′s top half a few months ago? Who would have even thought that Deschamp’s side could actually produce decent and pleasant football? With only six points from their first six games, Marseille made a dreadful start. This season’s start was the worst of the decade and maybe the worst of their history considering all the financial efforts made by the club in order to capture the title once again.
With a first victory obtained on week 7 against Evian Thonon Gaillard, it seemed that Les Phocéens could barely hope for better than a Europa League place this campaign. Since then, lots of things have changed though and fans can rightly feel optimistic looking ahead to the remainder of the season. Marseille’s last defeat was more than two months ago on the 27th November against Olympiakos at home. Ever since, OM have enjoyed a fantastic run of ten victories with just a draw against Bordeaux at the Velodrome.
What are the reasons for this late success then? Firstly the players’ mentality has changed as the coach finally started considering all the players equally which did not seem to be evident all the time at the start of the year. In fact a conspiracy theory used to fly around Marseille about some privileged players… like teacher’s pets. Alou Diarra and Lucho González, who have been Deschamps’ costliest recruits so far, were the first supporters’ targets as they did not understand why the manager kept putting them in the starting eleven because of their weak early performances.
Other players such as Morgan Amalfitano and Stéphane Mbia began having a big influence in OM’s midfield, which eventually forced DD to bench some now supposedly unwanted players. These decisions have certainly had a decisive influence on Marseille’s current style of play with Amalfitano adding a bit of fantasy and Mbia giving more confidence to the defensive side of the team. As a matter of fact, Les Marseillais have only lost three games in 2011 with Mbia in the starting lineup. Who said he was not important?
César Azpilicueta and Jérémy Morel both derided early on for weak performances have shown they are great wingbacks. Although Morel still has to work a little more on his balance between attack and defence, Azpilicueta has improved a lot since he first arrived in La Canebière. The Spaniard definitely seems to have settled in at his ‘new’ club after the terrible knee injury that sidelined him for six months. The accuracy of his crosses has actually been one of Marseille’s most dangerous weapons this season.
Another plus point is the blossoming relationship between Loïc Rémy and Mathieu Valbuena. The two French international have together contributed 40 goals from a total of 58, all competitions included. Sixteen goals and four assists for Rémy and eight goals and twelve assists for Valbuena; an astonishing duet indeed! Both have been greatly helped out by the Ayew brothers who have also played a big part in Marseille’s current success story.
The question was: can Olympique de Marseille compete for the title? And the answer is: Yes. Of course they do. Although they are 12 points behind their old enemy Paris-Saint Germain, there is still a match to play against Ancelotti’s side, which means a POTENTIAL six points gap if l’OM can beat Lyon later today. With sixteen games left to play representing a maximum of forty-eight points, it will not be easy to accomplish but it still remains a distinct possibility though.
For this, Deschamp’s side will have to remain concentrated and keep on playing the delectable football that has restored their supporters faith in recent weeks. Ahead of the Lyon match which will be the last game of a tricky run of fixtures (LOSC-Rennes-OL), OM could flirt with the podium if they manage to beat Rémi Garde’s side. Good news or not, Deschamps will not have to worry about whether he fields the out-of-form Lucho or not as the Argentinian returned to FC Porto on Transfer Deadline Day bringing to an end the transfer saga that has surrounded the club since the summer.