This is the question that has divided the world of football for fifteen years. The question that almost defines a philosophy. Are you rather Cristiano Ronaldo, the embodiment of hard work and devouring ambition? Or Lionel Messi, pure genius, raw talent? When we put it in Roberto de Zerbi, the new OM coach, we think we know the answer. He, the obsessive coach, the eternal dissatisfied who never savor a victory, should logically recognize himself in the Portuguese. And yet.
The choice of genius, the praise of work
The answer, delivered to the teamfell with the simplicity of a confusing dribbling. To the question ” So are you more Cristiano than Lionel Messi? “, He answers, a smirk: ” No. Messi, always. Ā»Ā» This is where the answer becomes fascinating. Because all the rest of his speech is a vibrant tribute to Ronaldo's mentality. De Zerbi explains that he was shaped in AC Milan, in contact with legends like Barei and Maldini who, after a title, “Return to training as if nothing had happened”. For him, that's it, the brand of the real ones. “He is not born champion, he becomes it”he asserts, speaking of this mentality. A definition that fits perfectly with CR7.
So why Messi? This is the whole paradox of the character of Zerbi. He worships the process, effort, sacrifice. He admires the athlete who is built in the sweat of his forehead. But when choosing, the artist in him cannot help but plebisicate pure talent, this “I don't know what” that does not learn. This is the admission that even for an apostle of work, magic will always have the last word.
A philosophy for OM
This choice speaks volumes about what he will expect from his players in Marseille. He will not ask them to be geniuses. We have it or we don't have it. On the other hand, he will impose the mentality of Ronaldo to them to simply have the right to express their talent. This is the ultimate requirement: working as a convict to have the freedom to play as an artist. He wants players who, like him, never be satisfied, who already think of defeat after a big victory.
Basically, this eternal debate between the two sacred monsters is perhaps their greatest success. He forces us to position ourselves, to reveal what we are looking for in football. Roberto de Zerbi chose. He will ask his players' sweat from Cristiano, while secretly dreaming that they have one day the grace of Lionel. A program as simple to state as it is terribly difficult to apply.
