Olympic de Marseille president Pablo Longoria spoke in an interview with El Pais.
He is the face of Jacques-Henri Eydrop in Marseille. Passed from the Director of Sports to the chairman of OM in early March, Pablo Longoria did not receive a promotion to the most tranquil region of the climate. The Commander’s invasion, with disappointing results and the resignation of André Villa-Bose a month ago, has left a mark on supporters. But the seduction operation led by Longoria is quite successful at the moment. He attracted Argentine coach Jorge Sompoli despite the context. Since then, Om has taken 10 out of 15 points in lathing. Sampolla’s recruitment was “to return to the pure spirit of Marseille”, commented Longoria in the column of the Spanish daily. country. More carefully, there were two points behind this idea. “A sentimental point, because Sampaoli perfectly matches the mentality of the city and the club”, underlines Longoria. But it is also a point of view, with “a football offer that people expect in Marseille: aggressive pressure after losing the ball, trying to keep the ball from a high block to protect it”. “Marseille is a city of passion and you must have an equally passionate approach to the game”, summarizes Longoria.
“When I recruit a player, especially if he is South American, I say to him: ‘You come to play for Boca Juniors in Europe.”
Pablo Longoria, President of the Olympic de Marseille
This crazy love for football in Marseille, Longoria (34) assimilated it: “When you’re a leader, it feels like the supporters are giving you something:” Manage my passions and my emotions. “Football is a social medium that allows you to experience a range of emotions that your everyday life does not give you. As a leader, you are the guarantor of people’s emotions.” Marseille President Marseille City’s Own Let’s go even further in the analysis. “When I recruit a player, especially if he is South American, I say to him: ‘You come to Europe to play for Boca Juniors.’ In Marseille, the effort is not negotiable. There are three similar cities in the world: Naples, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. ”Longoria emphasizes comparisons with the Argentine capital, as” Marseille is a port of entry for immigrants, a hard-working city with a mix of cultures “.
Milik’s first goal against Aum last February (2-2)
Longoria criticizes coaches in France
But in Pablo Longoria’s life, it’s not just Om. All are French football which he hopes to shoot at the top. El Pais recalls that, this season, France ranks 8th in respect to the performance of their clubs in European competitions, followed by the Netherlands, Portugal and Scotland. Longoria believes that due to an “export championship” and a lack of “recognition”, it is difficult to “raise the level of 1”. “The training of football players in France is comparable to that of basketball players in the United States,” Longoria develops. It is a football still played in the street, it is more individual training than collective. When it comes to football, France is the NBA of Europe. They make very individualistic players, who do not enter into a concrete idea of the game, searching for identity for precisely this reason. There is no French game model. “
France can claim to be some of the best footballers in the world, and this is what explains the success of the Blues with a win at their climax in the 2018 World Cup. But she cannot say the same for her coaches. “It is one of the countries that exports the least amount of coaches, Longoria regrets. They do not sell collective ideas. “The axis of progress was clearly identified by the president of OM, according to which” French football is looking its way “.