Promoted to new coach of OM, Jacques Abardonado delivered his first press conference this Wednesday evening. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at his side.
Shaken by an improbable crisis which threatens its entire organizational chart, OM nevertheless remains focused on the competition. This Thursday evening, the Marseillais will meet in Amsterdam against Ajax, as part of the 1time lifting of the group stage of the Europa League. On the eve of this meeting, Jacques Abardonado – replacing Marcelino at short notice – spoke to the press.
“ At the club I knew everything, the U15s, the U17s, the U19s and the reserves. All I was missing was this post (from number one coach, editor’s note). It arrives earlier than expected », laughs the person concerned, well aware of the magnitude of the task. “ I am sad, it affects a club that I love, it hurts. Now we have to look to the future, and that’s training tonight, then the match tomorrow night. »
If he himself does not know the duration of his interim period – “ I will take it game by game “, he breathes – the former defender who also spent time in Lorient and Nice in his career tries to keep a cool head. “ For me, it’s a pride to represent this club. I will lead the group for the first time this evening but the players are ready. (…) With David (Friio, the sporting director of OM, editor’s note), we watched a lot of Ajax videos. They may be in crisis but we will take care of ourselves and do our best tomorrow evening. »
“We are human…”
And to want to be reassuring about the feelings of the first Olympian actors, the players: “ I had crises as a player and it didn’t bother me. (…) The players know the context of the club when they come, they know that it can happen. They have to be professional, they have to stay focused on the match, their role is to concentrate only on the pitch. » Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang confirms: “ It’s quite a storm. But we think about the match, it’s the most important thing, we have to focus on that. Results are expected of us on the ground. »
The Gabonese striker admits to being minimally impacted by this electric atmosphere. “ We are humanhe emphasizes. It’s a bit special, because if we look at the league standings, we’re still there, there’s no drama. We were unable to demonstrate the extent of our talent in the last performances. This is a testing period for us. We have to deal with it, we are footballers and we have to do our job. It means staying united, staying together, sticking together. There’s a great group with good guys. Now we must move forward. »
