LIGUE 1 SEASON PREVIEW | Can a rejuvenated Olympique de Marseille challenge this season?
Here we are after a year of Igor Tudor – back essentially where we began. The Croate spearheaded a fiery and passionate single season of intense high-pressing and transition-heavy football before proclaiming “a season here is worth two or three seasons in another club” and resigning. Whilst the summer saw a raft of changes and a healthy dosage of OM-standard turmoil, an exciting new era beckons for Les Olympiens .
A long and protracted search for a new man to lead the helm at the Vélodrame set afoot following Tudor’s departure. It was one that saw the club enter talks with Lille manager Paulo Fonseca as well as River Plate’s Marcelo Gallardo; with even wild suggestions that former PSG manager Christophe Galtier was a potential candidate. Finally it was Marcelino García Toral, known simply as Marcelino, who picked up the Marseille mantle for the 2023-2024 season.
The former Barcelona striker joins Marseille from Chelsea, and Ligue 1 could be the perfect breeding ground for the Gabonese international to re-find his feet. With the departure of Alexis Sánchez, the need for a proven goal-scorer and a dynamic attacking presence became paramount.
The reaction of Marseille’s fans when Ndiaye arrived at the club tells you everything you need to know about this signing. Moving from a newly promoted Premier League side in Sheffield United, Ndiaye is a pacey attacking presence who has a proven goal-scoring record and fits perfectly into Marcelino’s plans. In fact, even president Pablo Longoria admitted that “ since the arrival of Marcelino, his name was firmly on the table.” It also helps that he has been a fan of OM since a very young age…
Marcelino’s recruitment strategy has yielded a squad with a revitalized set of strengths.
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