Having gotten off to a bad start in the championship and dragging itself through an infirmary more stocked than in wartime, the fault of a devastating international truce for its players, OM approaches Sunday’s Classic against PSG with the face of bad days. But everything will not be thrown away in this match against the sworn enemy, no.
If the rivalry has for a long time now been more symbolic than sporting, the Vélodrome is nevertheless preparing to beat a new attendance record, with no less than 65,800 supporters expected in the stands after aperitif time. At least that was necessary to say a worthy farewell to Kylian Mbappé, the man that Marseille supporters loved to hate so much. And who gave it back to them.
Second best scorer in the history of the Classics with 9 goals behind GOAT Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11 goals), the Kyks have always taken great pleasure in toying with the Olympian defenses. Last year, he had his little double, including a splendid volley on a lobbed pass from Messi, for a clean and clear 4-0.
“We are the first to be happy that he is leaving! »
“Frankly we are happy that he is leaving, he will finally stop giving us goals and hovering over the championship,” rejoices Bilo, 23, who has been a corner subscriber for seven years. We have very rarely, if ever, succeeded in stopping it. We know that he considers the Classico to be a great match and so he gives his all every time and he makes us suffer. » A pleasure shared by Titi, the welcome host for the new Marseille recruits at Marignane airport: “Even if we hate him, we have to admit that he hurts us every time. We are the first to be happy that he is leaving! »
As for Waïd, a young 17-year-old OM supporter, the euphoria turns into a bit of excessive enthusiasm: “I think his departure will be an excellent way to fuel competition between the top 5 clubs. For me it’s the end of a major reign for PSG in Ligue 1, they will have to fight twice as hard to win the championship and for our part, this will allow us to re-engage in the race for first place. »
Mbappé, number 1 of the most hated Parisians
Booed as a preview by the entire stadium on Tuesday during the visit of the Blues during the friendly match against Chile, Mbappé unanimously sits at the top of the ranking of the most hated Parisian players in history on the Marseille side. “I also hated Pauleta quite a bit, who also had this sort of petty arrogance, but that’s nothing compared to Mbappé. He is number 1. With the melon he has, this arrogance, he makes the Vélodrome hate him. He’s the most hated of Parisians,” says Titi.
“Neymar, even if he often animated the Classicos, that he was in all the bad places and that he was able to take red cards, he still had a lot of sympathy in Marseille, in particular thanks to the comeback” , judge for his part Bilo. While Mbappé, beyond being Parisian, many of us don’t like him at all. I don’t like the image he gives off, this desire to control everything, to master everything, to want to appear as the ideal man in all circumstances. Everything sounds a little wrong in his communication. »
However, with a little hindsight, with the departure of Kyks, the Marseillais will lose a precious ally. You may find the idea damn twisted, but who better than Kylian in recent years to troll and humiliate PSG in this way? Between his desire to leave six months after having extended, his fabulous letter sent to the club to signify that he would not activate his optional year or his rant against the club’s resubscription campaign, to complain that PSG does not is not “the Kylian Saint-Germain” (list far from exhaustive), the Kyks has unconsciously worked a lot for the joy of living in Bouches-du-Rhône in recent years.
“It’s true that there is a bit of that. He made us laugh a lot, admits Bilo. I remember his conf where he said that if he had wanted to win the Champions League, he would not have stayed at PSG, that was a good one. It made me laugh but deep down it’s abject behavior. I see a lot of Parisian supporters around me who hate him as much as we do. » “The controversies he has generated in recent years have sparked a lot of mockery on Twitter from Marseille, but when a player can give you two or three goals the following weekend, he is still very far from “be your ally,” says Waïd, a young supporter of OM and Real Madrid, who will therefore be doubly jubilant this summer.
The look will also change to Blue
The departure of the Parisian number 7 will also free a lot of Marseille supporters, torn at each match of the French team between the duty to rot him internally because he is a Parisian and the irresistible desire to celebrate his goals at the Euro or in the Cup. of the world. Even if this will not be the case for Titi, who admits that he “no more supports the Blues than PSG or Mbappé”. But for others, and there are many of them, the hour of deliverance has come.
Bilo elaborates: “He is very divisive, even within the Marseille community in the sense that, if some hate him in all circumstances, even in the Blues jersey, for many he still remains our flagship striker in the French team with Griezmann. It is one of the big players in the World Cup in Russia, the same as in Qatar. They should feel better when he plays for Real. »
But the time has not yet come and on Sunday, he will certainly want to shine one last time at the Vélodrome with the jersey bearing the seal of the capital. With in mind, perhaps, Zlatan’s record and his eleven pawns against OM to collect. And as for the welcome that will be reserved for him by the Vél’, nothing special is planned by the ultras of the two turns. “It will remain in the classic regime of an OM-PSG,” announces Titi. He knows he’s going to get booed and insulted. »
Will Enrique deprive him of his last Classic?
For that, it would still be necessary that Luis Enrique deigns to give him playing time, he who is now managing his future ex-phenomenon with the schlague, without the slightest tear of remorse, while three big deadlines arrive for PSG with the half – Coupe de France final against Rennes on Wednesday, and the double confrontation against Barça in the Champions League on April 10 and 16. Even if it’s hard to imagine “Lucho” not at least bringing him into play in the second half.
Not being a starter at the Vélodrome has only happened once in Mbappé’s Parisian career, in October 2019, when Tuchel sanctioned him for arriving late for the talk. That day, Bondy The Kid had crashed just three minutes after coming into play. But for the Marseillais, whatever the scenario on Sunday, deep down, it’s the last of the lasts and it will be whatever happens a blessed day.