OM coach at the start of the season, Marcelino congratulated his Villarreal players this Thursday despite the elimination in the round of 16 of the Europa League against Marseille. The Spanish technician believed that his players would have deserved qualification.
A statement which will not increase Marcelino’s popularity in Marseille. At the end of a round of 16 second leg of the Europa League won by his team Villarreal against OM (3-1), the former coach of Athletic Bilbao assured that his team deserved better than elimination against to the Phocaeans. The Yellow Submarine was superior to Jean-Louis Gasset’s men throughout the confrontation according to Marcelino.
“First of all, I am very proud of my players. I am also very grateful. We saw a very good show. And in my opinion, the cumulative result over the two matches as a whole is unfair, said the former Valencia coach. I think that in Marseille we played very badly, but OM had about four chances. Today, we had, I think, 18 chances. So it’s a shame. We did a very good job, we were also very good in the game. We created a lot of chances in the game. There were also set pieces, opportunities based on strategy. But I am very proud of my players. We told them that we had a possibility of passing and I think that today they showed that it was possible. That’s why I think it’s a shame because I repeat, over the course of the two matches, we deserved better.”
A brief stint on the OM bench
Appointed head of OM on June 23, 2023, Marcelino left his position three months later, on September 20 of the same year. At the end of a tense meeting between Marseille leaders and supporters groups, the Spaniard, who was not present during it, decided to resign. Undefeated in Ligue 1 in five days (2 wins, 3 draws), Marcelino still faced distrust from Marseille fans due to the elimination in the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League against Panathinaikos and a game little to the taste of the Vélodrome.