Alvaro Gonzalez has revealed his delight at André Villas-Boas staying on as Olympique de Marseille coach to tackle the Champions League in 2020-2021.
The Spanish defender also committed his future to the 2019-2020 runners-up and is looking forward to competing in the Champions League - a competition he's never played in before - under the Portuguese coach.
Alvaro told L'Equipe: "For me it was very important that he stayed as coach. Along with Andoni (Zubizarreta) he was the person who had faith in me and wanted me to come to OM. Andoni's departure was difficult, because he was decisive in me coming here and André too. He made our arrival possible.
"I called him to speak about his situation"
"Before I came to Marseille, André called me personally to persuade me to come. Here, it was down to us, the players, to do something for the coach and his staff, with whom we'd had a very good season. We all deserve the pleasure of playing in the Champions League. So we called the coach. I called him to speak about his situation and his state of mind. We made a collective decision that we were all going to stay and play in the Champions League."
Signed on a permanent deal through to 2023 after a successful season on loan from Villarreal, centre-half Alvaro told the newspaper about his role in the OM side: "André has confidence in me and speaks to me a lot. He asks me to respect the tactics and I transmit what I feel out on the pitch. I'm a relay. It's my job to organise the defensive block and I think that is really important in Ligue 1 as our opponents are strong physically.
Thauvin optimism
"If we're well organised at the back, then with the talent we have in attack then we are going to win a lot of matches. This season, Flo Thauvin will be there from the start of it. The objective will be the same: to qualify for the Champions League."