Three weeks after his resounding/mysterious departure from Olympique de Marseille, Marcelino spoke for the first time. We were very curious to know the exact reasons for the resignation of the Spanish coach, a long-time friend of Pablo Longoria, and he remains very evasive on this subject in the interview he gave to The Team.
“After the Monday meeting [avec les leaders des principaux groupes de supporteurs], where Pablo had been threatened, the decision was made, says Marcelino. It involved Pablo and the rest of the leaders. They could not accept, under any circumstances, this type of threat, nor continue to work in this situation. I was very angry, disappointed and sad. I did not make the decision to leave, it was a general decision, given the absolutely reprehensible threats. »
“I will never accept threats in the context of my work”
However, the former Valencia coach was the only one to resign (before soon the football director Javier Ribalta?). “It’s not that we wanted to leave, it’s that the situation was untenable,” he explains on this subject. You can’t accept threats as normal. So, we made this decision. Then, if Pablo, Pedro (Iriondo, the strategic director), Stéphane (Tessier, the administrative and financial director) or Javier (Ribalta) change their minds, in circumstances that I do not know… There are everyone’s responsibilities , the fact of not leaving the club without leadership, in a period where matches follow one another with a competition in progress, all this changed the initial decision. I respect all of that. »
If Marcelino was therefore perhaps hasty in his decision-making, although he assures that he “never received threats” and “never felt in danger” in Marseille, we sense in the interview that he does not regret the global context surrounding OM. “I’ve never seen that in my life and I don’t think I’ll see it again,” says the 58-year-old coach. I will never accept threats as part of my job. These deplorable events demonstrate that it is not as big a club as it would like to be. Some radical supporters who want to constantly influence events prevent it from being a big club. My very short experience makes me think that this is a club where creating a project is absolutely impossible. » This time, the Marcelino page is turned for good, and Gennaro Gattuso showed Sunday against Le Havre (3-0) that he had what it takes to match the volcanic Vélodrome.