Gennaro Gattuso arrived from OM, we learned this Wednesday that the Marseille locker room was not convinced by the Italian coach’s method.
Gennaro Gattuso left with his ideas. By stubbornly clinging to his preferred system – the 4-3-3 – despite the qualities and shortcomings of his group, the Italian technician caused his own downfall, observing week after week, and helplessly, the inability to his team to evolve efficiently and reliably in such a configuration.
Arriving on Monday the day after a humiliation in Brest (1-0 defeat in numerical superiority), the former emblematic midfielder of AC Milan left his place to the very experienced Jean-Louis Gasset. A septuagenarian strategist accustomed to playing the duty firefighter and who does not seem obsessed with any particular system. “ We have to take the important players and put them geographically in the best place on the pitch and then we build the team, said the new OM coach on Tuesday at a press conference. (…) You have to play to the team’s strengths. We must put leaders in the best conditions on the ground. »
In 3-5-2 from Thursday?
Gennaro Gattuso clearly did not understand this. L’Equipe this Wednesday reveals that the Marseille players themselves tried to reason with their coach at the beginning of the month – a group of executives having directly requested the Calabrian to reconnect with the 3-5-2 which had been so successful in Phocaeans in December. On the occasion of a memorable OM-OL in particular (3-0).
Ringhio unfortunately did not hear his players. With the rest that we know. Without a doubt, Jean-Louis Gasset will be more attentive. The Marseillais, despite the suspension of Leonardo Balerdi, could well return to this famous system of three defenders and two pistons, Thursday evening in the Europa League, against Shakhtar Donetsk. A return play-off which promises to already determine the end of the season for the Olympians (2-2 in the first leg in Hamburg last Thursday).
