Rebellion, ritiros & Waddle - 'ultra' De Zerbi's year at Marseille

"When I was aged 13-14, successful the AC Milan younker academy, my manager told maine to commencement pursuing Marseille and Chris Waddle," Roberto de Zerbi discreetly disclosed aft the French side's last crippled of the season.

"That's erstwhile I fell successful emotion with Marseille. I started pursuing the nine due to the fact that of Waddle." The England winger would triumph 3 Ligue 1 titles with Les Phoceens and assistance them scope the 1991 European Cup final.

De Zerbi's revelation followed a play afloat of lively - and astatine times fiery - quality conferences astatine the Velodrome and the La Commanderie grooming ground. The Italian recovered successful France's oldest metropolis thing that mirrored his past and his ain temperament.

"The metropolis of Marseille and the nine of Marseille are akin to maine successful a way. I was looking for an situation that could marque maine dream," said the erstwhile Brighton brag successful aboriginal February.

De Zerbi is simply a earthy acceptable for the vigor astatine Olympique de Marseille. His shot demands conviction, and truthful does the city. As section writer Jean-Claude Izzo erstwhile wrote: "Here, you person to instrumentality sides. Be passionate. Be for, beryllium against. Just be, intensely."

At the extremity of the play the Italian was caught up successful jubilant celebrations, waving a flare with supporters that had greeted the Marseille squad astatine 4am astatine Provence Airport. "I was calved an ultra," De Zerbi exclaimed to DAZN lone weeks before.

It was not a rubric triumph - but finishing 2nd successful Ligue 1 and qualifying for the Champions League felt nevertheless dramatic.

The assignment of the passionate Italian was viewed arsenic an "impossible dream" by nine president Pablo Longoria erstwhile helium made a telephone past summertime aft De Zerbi departed Brighton.

That imagination teetered connected the borderline of chaos respective times this season, investigating the tactical and affectional limits of 1 of the astir promising coaches of the past decade.

"Marseille has ever been the larboard of exiles... Here, anyone who arrives 1 time astatine the larboard is inevitably astatine home," Izzo besides wrote astir Marseille.

After an eighth-placed decorativeness past season, the nine kicked disconnected a extremist overhaul - welcoming an eclectic postulation of misfits and experienced players attracted by De Zerbi's caller project. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Neal Maupay and Adrien Rabiot each arrived citing De Zerbi arsenic a factor.

English brace Jonathan Rowe and Mason Greenwood joined the Anglophone contingent astatine the nine on with Canada planetary Derek Cornelius.

"The large quality was Roberto de Zerbi calling maine retired of the blue. I was a spot taken aback by it due to the fact that it's the archetypal clip a manager has gone retired of his mode to telephone maine and accidental helium wants me," erstwhile Norwich winger Rowe told BBC Sport.

"The manager has been a spot much intricate with the details: your assemblage shape, however you spell into games, however you deliberation and enactment focused successful a game. There's a batch of accusation to instrumentality in."

"He's precise demanding, 1 of the champion coaches successful the world. He's 1 of the reasons wherefore I came here," added Greenwood earlier the last crippled of the season. "We person a large narration and helium puts maine successful the champion presumption truthful that I tin explicit myself.

"We've besides had to larn erstwhile to beryllium patient, erstwhile to play a spot quicker erstwhile we person a batch of the shot and interruption down defences. So he's taught maine a batch astir however to play my game."

Greenwood joined the nine from Manchester United past summertime successful a woody worthy up to 31.6m euros (£26.6m). Serious charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped successful February 2023.

"We took the determination internally. OK, determination was immoderate opposition, that was objective," said Marseille nine president Longoria successful September. "But astatine the aforesaid clip that gave america powerfulness to possibly not investigate, due to the fact that I'm not a judge, but to usage each the accusation to marque the champion decision, which I deliberation we did."

Greenwood scored doubly connected his Ligue 1 debut successful a 5-1 triumph implicit Brest and went connected to decorativeness with 21 goals, breaking the grounds of the astir goals successful a debut play for a Marseille subordinate successful the 21st century, up of Bafetimbi Gomis (20) and Didier Drogba (19).

His goals won 16 further points for the nine - the highest of immoderate subordinate successful Ligue 1 this season, according to Opta.

Marseille's quality for attacking explosivity connected the transportation nether De Zerbi was abundant from the commencement of the season. Les Olympiens broke respective goalscoring and possession records, scoring 74 goals successful 34 games this season, with lone an all-conquering Paris St-Germain broadside netting much successful Ligue 1.

Yet aft a tally of 5 losses successful 7 games, the play would instrumentality a crook for the surreal. Following decision by Reims successful March, a study from French paper L'Equipe alluded to tensions arising betwixt De Zerbi and his players - going arsenic acold to suggest a 'mutiny' had taken place.

De Zerbi deed back: "Some radical made maine retired to beryllium a criminal. It's not fair. I'm a bully person. My mum called maine this greeting and asked: 'What did you do?'"

"There is nary rift betwixt us," claimed erstwhile Brentford and Brighton striker Maupay during the aforesaid quality conference. "He is truthful passionate and committed... In families oregon couples, you person to beryllium capable to speech things through."

After concerns astir the squad environment, De Zerbi - on with Longoria and sporting manager Medhi Benatia - made the corporate determination to instrumentality the squad connected a grooming retreat to Rome.

OM had been connected a squad bonding campy pursuing a decision earlier successful the play by Auxerre, but this 'ritiro' - often a signifier for Serie A teams - progressive the team's 50-man sporting cognition moving to the outskirts of the Italian superior precocious successful the season.

"We've thought with the nine astir doing everything we tin to scope our objective," said De Zerbi. "It's not a punishment - it's simply to assistance the squad reconnect. The players agreed. It won't alteration their lives, but it could alteration their careers."

As the satellite turned its eyes to Rome pursuing the decease of Pope Francis, Marseille recovered a benignant of rebirth of their ain successful the Eternal City. De Zerbi visited the Vatican with nine representatives to wage his respects - earlier absorption switched backmost to Champions League qualification.

Ping-pong, rooftop barbecues and enactment connected the grooming pitch, distant from the prying eyes of La Commanderie, ended up being what was needed to marque the quality successful the last games of the season.

"I had the pleasance of celebrating my day determination - I had ne'er been to Italy before," smiled Rowe. "We truly managed to make amended cohesion and go much united."

Sixteen goals successful the last 5 games of the play earned large wins implicit Brest and Montpellier, with a triumph astatine Le Havre sparking scenes of celebration. A merchandise of hostility arsenic De Zerbi, his players and unit each flooded the distant section.

"I judge this is much than a miracle," the Italian said afterwards.

"We spent clip together, had meal together. We trained less, but we worked a batch connected unity and it showed connected the pitch; it's a family.

"It's not existent that the players were against me; that wounded me. There was ne'er immoderate mutiny."

The archetypal enactment of the De Zerbi communicative astatine Marseille has proved to beryllium a whirlwind that has reached a satisfactory decision for each parties: Champions League qualification.

"I emotion conflict, I emotion controversy. I deliberation it's portion of shot and portion of this club's DNA. You can't alteration that," said Longoria astatine his end-of-season quality conference.

"With Roberto, we started a rhythm that we acceptable retired successful a three-year contract. I deliberation we're successful a bully place.

"We privation to find continuity, fto the adrenaline that is associated with this nine dice down."

After a acme held successful the US, Marseille confirmed the committedness betwixt Longoria, De Zerbi, Benatia and American proprietor Frank McCourt to proceed moving together.

And truthful determination volition beryllium a 2nd enactment to De Zerbi's odyssey successful the southbound of France, 1 that volition spot the manager vie successful Europe's elite contention for the archetypal clip since his tenure astatine Shakhtar Donetsk successful 2021.

More than 30 years aft archetypal falling for the OM of Waddle, it volition beryllium the Italian's crook to effort to re-energise Marseille's arrogant European heritage.