Scorer on Sunday evening against Montpellier (4-1), Iliman Ndiaye can thank his new coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, who had made a nice gesture for him the day before.
Sometimes destiny has little to do with it. Provence thus evokes the weekend spent by Iliman Ndiaye, who was the decisive scorer for Olympique de Marseille against Montpellier (4-1). The day before, the Senegalese had missed training for personal reasons.
La Provence says that Ndiaye warned his coach Jean-Louis Gasset that he was going to be late at the training center. The new Olympian coach then made a strong choice, giving the former Sheffield player the option of missing the session, while warning him of this: “Tomorrow you will be the starter and you will destroy everything”.
First goal at the VĂ©lodrome for Ndiaye
The next day, Ndiaye thanked Gasset for his confidence by scoring the (very nice) equalizing goal, his very first goal at the Stade Vélodrome. And the Senegalese confided in the mixed zone that he had delivered “(s)our best match with OM”.
It is difficult to say that Ndiaye, who sometimes doubted during his first months in Marseille, was transfigured by this merciful gesture from his coach. But what is certain is that if Gasset had wanted to demonstrate authority and firmness (by telling him for example: “You’re late for training, you’re not playing on Sunday”), Ndiaye would not have been on the field in the 31st minute, and he would not have exploded the Vélodrome with his goal.
