Marcelino Garcia Toral on Marseille - 'The ultras prefer control over improvement of the club'

Marcelino Garcia Toral has declared doubled down on his statement that it is ‘impossible’ to build anything at Olympique Marseille due to the involvement of the ultras at the club.

The Asturian took over in Marseille last summer, but left before he reached 10 games, after threats from the ultras against club directors. Marcelino declared that it was an unsustainable situation.

During an interview with Diario AS, Marcelino said that while it was a great and exciting project at a big club, he could not stay on. He admitted to never having seen anything like it in his managerial career, having to hold meetings with ultras at the training ground with the players, listening to their thoughts.

“The issue of ultras is something very deep into things and established, and it is very difficult to eradicate. They want to control Marseille. In that negative state that surrounds the club, they feel comfortable. They prefer this circumstance to the evolution of the entity.”

In a previous interview, Marcelino had explained that he felt it was ‘impossible’ to build anything at the club as a result. He stood by his words.

“The facts are there. There is a continuous change of coaches and players, the managers are not there for more than a year. Something can clearly be improved. It is impossible to generate a solid and winning project. You can win short competitions because that’s football, but a title is not going to mean establishing yourself in European football because that normally manifests itself through long-lasting projects.”

Marseille have certainly rifled through coaches in recent years, with the likes of Igor Tudor and Jorge Sampaoli holding the position before Marcelino.

Since leaving the position, he has acknowledged turning down