Returning to the Vélodrome after leaving Olympique de Marseille at the start of the season, Marcelino was heavily booed and whistled during the announcement of the team compositions this Thursday ahead of the match against Villarreal in the round of 16 of the Europa League.
A salty return. Marcelino, short-lived coach of Olympique de Marseille at the start of the season and now coach of Villarreal, was heavily booed and whistled by Marseille supporters during the announcement of the team compositions this Thursday during the round of 16 first leg Europa League between the two clubs.
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The reunion was expected to be chaotic and there was no shortage of it. If one of the corners of the Vélodrome stadium is closed due to sanctions imposed by UEFA, the Marseille supporters did not forget to whistle the one they wanted to leave OM at the start of the season.
A good relationship with former employees
The pre-match was also punctuated by this strange climate, with the arrival of Marcelino smirking as he got off the Villarreal bus. A few players including Capoue went to reconnoitre the pitch, under the whistles of the Vélodrome. The first chants were heard against Marcelino even if he did not go on the pitch and preferred to stay in the locker room. He warmly greeted a few club employees who came to meet him near the visitors’ locker room or members of the staff with whom he worked, such as Jon Pascua, goalkeeping coach.
Appointed coach of Olympique de Marseille on June 23, 2023, Marcelino decided to resign on September 20, 2023, after less than 3 months on the OM bench.
Virulent remarks against OM upon his departure
Confiding in an interview for the newspaper L’Équipe shortly after, he did not spare the Marseille club: “My very short experience makes me think that this is a club where creating a project is absolutely impossible. Because ‘a club this big cannot be manipulated by a few.’
He even felt that OM was “regressing” because of its “radical supporters”, before defending his career: “I was a coach for twenty years and I won two titles in recent seasons (the Coupe d’Ivoire). Spain in 2019 with Valencia and the Spanish Super Cup in 2021 with Athletic Club), and not in big clubs. OM, during this time, won zero titles. I think I had the experience and the abilities to lead OM.”
Words that have not been forgotten by OM supporters who welcomed the man who was appointed head of the Yellow Submarine in November 2023 under a big bronca.