The major players who helped Olympique de Marseille to second place last season are all still at the Orange Vélodrome and the hope is that André Villas-Boas can build on that success even with the added challenge of Champions League football to deal with.
It is going to be a busy season for OM, so they could have done without having their opening match against AS Saint-Etienne postponed, but the difficulties posed by the coronavirus will not go away any time soon and they will not be the only club affected.
Despite the false start, there is plenty of positivity in Marseille after they ended the curtailed 2019-20 campaign in second place, their first podium finish since 2013 meaning the 1993 UEFA Champions League winners will be back in that competition for the first time in seven years.
Their first group game will not be until October, and between now and then Villas-Boas must hope that he keeps hold of his most important players. All eyes will be on Florian Thauvin: the World Cup-winning winger is fit again after having last season ruined by injury, but he has just one year left on his contract and Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud may find it difficult to turn down any offers that come in before the transfer window shuts on October 5.
After all, Marseille were hit with a €3 million fine by UEFA in June for Financial Fair Play breaches. They need to balance the books while also trying to remain competitive and giving Villas-Boas the means to succeed.
AVB: 'Players changed my mind' about leaving
The former Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Zenit Saint-Petersburg coach very nearly walked out of the Vélodrome in the spring, amid doubts about what kind of a team he would have to work with. He had also tied his future to that of Spanish sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta. Yet in the end ‘Zubi’ left and Villas-Boas agreed to stay put for the final year of his contract.
“It was very hard for me to go back on my word after I had exposed myself publicly. The players, and only the players, were the key in making me change my mind,” Villas-Boas said in an interview with sports daily L’Equipe last month. “I spoke to a lot of them on the telephone during those days of uncertainty surrounding my future at OM, and they changed my mind. Sometimes people change their minds. I hope that at the end of the season we will say it was a good thing.”
Payet extends stay
The very presence of the 42-year-old from Portugal gives Marseille fans hope. And then there are the players Villas-Boas has spoken about. Thauvin, provided he stays, will be like a new signing. Dimitri Payet is certainly staying put having extended his contract by two years, until 2024, accepting to reduce his salary in the process. “I have often said that I loved this club, that my family felt good here,” Payet, now 33, said. “I really want to be a part of the club and help it grow.”
Goalkeeper Steve Mandanda remains too, and insists he wants to stay for a long time yet. But the likes of Morgan Sanson, Boubacar Kamara and Bouna Sarr probably all have a price. If anyone does leave, Villas-Boas will want them replaced.
New signings
For now Marseille have seen just two new faces come in, and both are aged just 21. Midfielder Pape Gueye has signed from second-tier Le Havre on a four-year deal after going back on his decision to sign for Premier League club Watford. Argentine centre-back Leonardo Balerdi has joined on loan from Borussia Dortmund, but there is an option to make that deal permanent for a fee of up to €15 million.
There is a new face behind the scenes too in the shape of Pablo Longoria. The 33-year-old Spaniard is the new head of football at the club owned by American tycoon Frank McCourt. “My intention is to work on a long-term project, over a five-year period,” he told L’Equipe recently. “We are coming off a magnificent season where we finished second. We need to provide continuity in terms of all the good things that have happened recently and we need to provide the coach with a solid and reliable squad.”
Fans would love a first piece of silverware since 2012, but the main aim has to be to once again finish in the top three. That will not be easy, with the likes of Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco determined to come back stronger and several other clubs strengthening over the summer. The added demands of the Champions League may not help in that regard either, but Marseille do have an excellent coach and some of the finest players in the French game. There is certainly plenty cause for optimism.
