Jean-Louis Gasset praises Jonathan Clauss as one of the ‘best fullbacks for France’
Olympique de Marseille’s impressive start to life under manager Jean-Louis Gasset has returned a sense of self-belief to a club that looked in dire straits.
Gasset will have officially been Marseille’s manager for two weeks on Tuesday, but already changes have begun to take shape under him. The club yesterday evening cruised to a 5-1 victory over bottom-placed Clermont Foot to make it three wins in three for the Gasset era .
Performances have been highly impressive with players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (23) and Illiman Ndiaye (34) looking as if they have been given a fresh start, and their immense qualities finally unlocked in a season that they had struggled to get going.
Gasset has moved above the fray of club politics to allow players like Jonathan Clauss (31) and Pape Gueye (25) a chance to focus on their performances rather than the tumultuous relationship that they have suffered with a club hierarchy that had attempted to force them out in January.
The manager was glowing in his praise when he talked about Clauss in the Clermont postmatch comments, “ Jonathan is one of the top two or three best fullbacks for France, whether we play with a four or a five at the back. He knows how to attack when we play with five, he knows how to defend when we play with four .”
The defender had returned from a suspension to put in an excellent performance, scoring the third for Marseille in their second-half rout, and demonstrating the kind of qualities that had for much of the season made him the most dependable selection for Marseille.
GFFN | Nick Hartland
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