While Olympique de Marseille is having a very promising start to the season despite a complicated week marked by the two defeats on the lawn of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League then that of RC Lens in Ligue 1, L'Equipe devotes this Tuesday to a long investigation into Medhi Benatia, presented as “the most influential person in the club”.
There is also talk of Ali Zarrak, his “so divisive” assistant, and in particular his conflict last season with Jean-Pierre Papin. “Everyone knows who came out victorious: Papin is now a distant ambassador while Zarrak is closest to Benatia,” is it written about one who started out in a scout role.
Former glory of Olympique de Marseille, Jean-Pierre Papin returned to the club in 2022 in a role of ambassador but also of advisor to President Longoria, before taking the reins of the reserve team in November 2023. “I wanted (to coach the club), within the realm of possibility, because without these six years at OM I would not be what I am today, so I wanted to give back a little of what I had taken,”
he explained.
Not the ending he hoped for
Alas, this conflict with Ali Zarrak will have precipitated his departure from OM, JPP therefore retaining only a vague role of ambassador. The return of the former Olympian striker did not happen “as he hoped, especially the end”he admitted after his departure, adding: “But that’s how it is, I assume that football evolves. Maybe I need to question myself on some things. I didn't do it. »
Jean-Pierre Papin did not fail to highlight his results, the reserve having finished in 4th place in N3. With 12 wins and 8 draws in 22 matches, the former striker had never been to such a party on a bench, he who most often suffered a series of failures in the coaching costume, whether at Lens, Châteauroux, Chartres or even during his return to FC Bassin d'Arcachon.
