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Inside Marseille's Turbulent Season: Managerial Changes, Fan Protests and European Qualification
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Inside Marseille's Turbulent Season: Managerial Changes, Fan Protests and European Qualification

Inside Marseille's Turbulent Season: Managerial Changes, Fan Protests and European Qualification

French clubs have a habit of making life difficult for themselves. In just the last year, Girondins de Bordeaux gave up their status as a professional club due to financial incompetence, and with Ligue 1 struggling to land TV deals over the coming seasons, no less than eight clubs, including Montpellier and Nantes are at risk of going bankrupt.

However, Marseille, based on the south-east coast, has had a difficult season for many different reasons.

While they lie in second, having secured Champions League football for next season with one game to spare, their relative comfort at the end of the season couldn’t be further from how the club started the season.

So what has made the 2024/25 campaign so complicated for Marseille? What affected form and morale across the season? And how did they manage to secure continental football at the end of it?

The Mason Greenwood Saga

Marseille was thrown into turmoil before the season had even started. Before even making it to their first pre-season warm up game against Nimes in July, fans found themselves divided over the club's decision to approach disgraced Manchester United winger Mason Greenwood.

Greenwood had been involved in a domestic abuse scandal in 2022, in which graphic pictures and audio clips were released as evidence against him. As soon as these entered the mainstream media, Greenwood was marginalised at Old Trafford, and loaned out to Spanish side Getafe for the 2023/24 season.

It was obvious United had no intention of reintegrating such a controversial figure back into first team proceedings, and both parties agreed it was best that the Carrington graduate moved on.

Marseille were the first club on the scene for him, stumping up £27 million for the 22-year-old, and this proved enough to secure his services on a five year deal.

While French fans may be mostly unfamiliar with headline occurrences in the Premier League, fans certainly research the players their club is linked with, and when a large portion of the Marseille faithful discovered Greenwood’s court case, there was uproar.

Fans criticised the higher-ups at the club, citing in a fans forum article that the transfer would “irreversibly damage the values displayed by the club”, and “would mean that for many of us it would be a red line that would irreparably damage our passion for the club.”

Social media was awash with anti-Greenwood posts and hashtags such as #GreenwoodNotWeclome, and it was hard to find a single fan of the club who endorsed such a move.

Needless to say, the club went through with the move, and though the fans are less than pleased with the off-field personality of the Englishman, the fact he has been Les Phoceens best player this season has to count for something. He has so far netted 20 goals in all competitions, while setting up three more, and though he has at times been accused of a lack of effort and attitude problems, it speaks volumes that he has scored six more than his nearest teammate.

While things may have been swept under the carpet in the 10 months since his move, there are some who are still unhappy with Greenwood wearing a Marseille shirt, and there are rumours swirling that the Englishman could be moved on for a profit this season, with the club looking to cash in on his excellent numbers.

New Man at the Helm

Summer not only saw players shipped to and from the club - the coaching staff took on a new look as well. Jean-Louis Gasset, who had taken over from Gennaro Gattuso in early 2024, left in the summer, leaving the head coach spot vacant and open for applications.

Fortunately, Marseille had found the perfect target months before Gasset departed, as Roberto De Zerbi announced that he would be leaving Brighton and Hove Albion at the end of the season.

He had worked wonders in his time on England’s south coast, and had turned Brighton into consistent, well run European contenders. Fans were delighted with his appointment, and excitement grew as the city anticipated seeing the Italian’s bold, eye-catching approach in the flesh.

However, if he was trying to endear himself to the fans, De Zerbi did a poor job. Just 10 days after his appointment, addressing the rumors that the club would be signing Greenwood, De Zerbi stated that he would “publicly defend” the English youngster, saying that “when a player signs for my team, I consider him my child.”

De Zerbi certainly had a point - he put player welfare before anything else, and to create a close-knit squad, the manager has to be able to deal with any flack aimed at his players. However, due to the already spicy nature of the fans reaction to the Greenwood rumours, De Zerbi got a frosty reception, and had to prove himself in subsequent months before heat from the fans cooled off somewhat.

An Excellent Season

And it didn’t take long. De Zerbi’s tactics quickly took hold, and Marseille went their first five games unbeaten, winning four of them. Netting 15 goals (with Greenwood notching five), the Marseille faithful quickly saw that though they may not like the move for the forward, or the resulting statements from the manager, their respective transfers were both best for business, and they quickly found themselves on board the De Zerbi train.

Their defence was significantly less effective than their attack, but for now, this wasn’t a problem thanks to the number of goals coming up the other end. However, two wins in their next six forced their Italian coach to address the problem, and he shifted away from the 4-2-3-1 he had started the season with, in favour of a three at the back system, with a constantly changing shape in front of them.

This move reaped immediate rewards - Marseille would win 8 of their next nine games, and only lost the other one against Lille in a Coupe de France Penalty shootout. The move to three at the back saw their defensive number become increasingly watertight too - before the move, they conceded 16 in their first 11. After it, they conceded 11 in the same period, clearly demonstrating progress.

Despite an inconsistent patch last month, which saw them lose four in five, De Zerbi’s squad showed their strength of character, and in the four games since, have gone undefeated, with their victory over Le Havre sealing their place in the Champions League for the first time since 2023.

De Zerbi’s appointment, as well as his tactical flexibility, and the signing of Mason Greenwood were huge influences on the Marseile’s season, and despite the backlash both individuals received, both have proven absolutely paramount to Marseille’s success.

While it looks unlikely they will keep hold of Greenwood, De Zerbi looks comfortable in the south of France, and Marseille will only progress with him at the wheel. The proceeds from Greenwood's eventual transfer will create a nice sum of spending money to use this summer, and given the well-publicised tactical ID De Zerbi displayed while at Brighton, you can expect any replacements to be high in quality and low in price.

Marseille certainly haven’t suffered the most in French football - as mentioned earlier, a number of clubs face bankruptcy due to Ligue 1’s lack of TV deals - but the story of how the club and the fans slowly reunited throughout the season shows that most of the time, whatever goes on off the pitch can be repaired on it.

De Zerbi will already be thinking about ways to improve next season, and I wouldn’t put it past them to have a serious go at PSG’s title of reigning champions, should they bring in the right players. They certainly have the right coach.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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