At the Vélodrome stadium,
The goalkeeper of Olympique de Marseille, Pau Lopez, showed up at a press conference with the smile of someone who had just committed the perfect crime: that of having qualified his team for the semi-finals of the Europa League against the Benfica Lisbon by stopping the decisive shot on goal.
Nobody, no one, imagined seeing OM win this penalty shootout, which was becoming more and more inevitable after the liberating and equalizing goal from Faris Moumbagna (79th). The traumas of Annecy, in the Coupe de France last season, of Panathinaikos which cost qualification for the Champions League at the start of the season, or even of Rennes, this season in the Coupe de France, have been there. Each time, Pau Lopez was almost paralyzed by the exercise.
“I must tell the truth”
Rebelote Thursday evening. The OM goalkeeper chose the right side three times, on his left, but never stopped the ball. He even touched the leather on Kokcu’s second shot, without preventing him from crossing the line. Until the fourth shot, to his right, which he ended up deflecting with a firm hand. Asked about these four good choices, the Spaniard conceded a laugh so revealing: “I have to tell the truth. You know I’m not good at penalties. This morning we spoke with Jon [Pascua, l’entraîneur des gardiens] and Ruben [Blanco]. Ruben came up with the idea of deciding which side to dive on before the match. I already knew where to go, so that allowed me not to think about it too much. And I chose the right side four times. It’s not just me, it’s also Ruben and Jon,” confided the man who immediately turned to his two advisors after this decisive stop.
The OM goalkeeper was also well supported by his supporters, who clearly turned up the volume during the fateful session. Even more so when they saw former PSG player Angel Di Maria step forward to strike first. Accustomed to being traumatized by the former Parisian, the Marseille supporters took revenge this time. By sending out a din of which only the Vélodrome stadium has the secret, enough to make a sniper waver. And Di Maria saw his ball die on Lopez’s post, who had therefore chosen the right side.
“I know my strong points and my weak points, and I accept them. Tonight we did things differently, it worked. It doesn’t change anything for me, I try to do my job, I’m happy whenever I can play here. There are things that you cannot control,” continued the goalkeeper, when asked about the little confidence Marseille supporters have in him.
“One of the leaders of the group”
Thursday evening he proved it to them. And well before the penalty shootout, which his teammates might never have seen without his saves. First in the 74th minute, when their defenders let Benfica make a little Brazilian in their area, forcing them into a double save full of energy. Then in the 97th, with a tap in front of this devil Di Maria who is always well placed. And finally in the 107th minute, jumping at the feet of the incoming Cabral, to counter his shot during a weak Marseille time.
“He’s one of the leaders of the group, he’s one of the three or four players I talk to the most. He was frustrated in his last matches, he only conceded goals from flat-footed crosses, without being able to do anything. He is decisive in this match, he deserves it,” congratulated his coach, Jean-Louis Gasset.
The Spanish goalkeeper, not holding a grudge, even insisted on thanking and congratulating the public, who nevertheless did not hesitate to dislike him: “They do a lot of work for us, thank you for everything you give for OM” . It’s you most of all that they can thank.