In the middle of a maintenance mission with Tottenham, Roberto De Zerbi finds himself caught up these days by his Marseille past. Surprisingly violent. During an interview with CBS Sports, the Canada coach made a vitriolic charge in order to settle scores with the Italian technician.
Referring to the case of his foal Ismaël Koné, a short-lived Olympian who quickly became persona non grata in the Marseille city, loaned for six months to Rennes then transferred to Sassuolo last summer, Jesse Marsch gets carried away: “ It wasn’t easy for him with De Zerbi in Marseille. De Zerbi was a real asshole to him, but he stayed strong. He never doubted himself. He found a new setting, and watch him flourish today… »
The national coach, clearly very excited after his transalpine counterpart, did not stop there. “ I repeat it. De Zerbi acted like a real asshole to him! When I took the reins of Canada, I thought that Ismaël was a raw player, but full of talent. And since then, I’ve talked to him a lot about discipline and focus, and everything that implies in his daily life: his diet, his sleeping habits, the way he trains, the way he plays, as well as his overall intelligence. »
A real missed opportunity for OM
At the head of the Canucks since 2024, Jesse Marsch is full of praise for the 23-year-old midfielder. “ He went to Italy to play in a team that had just been promoted, in a very organized league, and he played an incredibly important role in that team having a great season. Look at the progress he was able to make despite the difficulties. »
With a successful season at Sassuolo in fact, the person concerned today finds himself in the small papers of great Italian players such as Inter, Juve and AC Milan. A meteoric rise which has earned him a current rating of 35 million euros – compared to 12 million last offseason. One more stone in the garden of OM and Roberto De Zerbi.
