Near
Back to home page
Published on 05/01/2024 at 18:13 | Updated on 05/01/2024 at 18:13
Iliman Ndiaye and the Olympians will play a key match of their season on Thursday at the Velodrome. © (AFP Photo)
Throughout a difficult season, Marseille have known as their only joys a European adventure that will culminate on Thursday, May 2 at the Velodrome in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals against Atalanta Bergamo, a match that reminds us how much Europe is. in OM’s DNA.
On Sunday, after a heaven-heavy 2-1 win over Lens, Samuel Gipasst gathered his teammates in a circle: “We’re through to the final, guys!We stopped by to give our Everything until the end!” We’re still alive!” said the Marseille captain, who will be suspended on Thursday.
Gigot’s harangue showed that Atalanta were on Marseille’s minds on Sunday, and even a little earlier. His phrase also reminds us that if OM, only seventh in Ligue 1, “is still alive”, it is the Europa League that they are heading towards. He owes it to them.
In September, in the midst of a governance crisis, without a coach and with a control that had “taken a step back”, OM had recovered a 3-3 advantage from an Ajax rival in Amsterdam.
En route to the semi-finals, Marseille also eliminated Shakhtar Donetsk, Villarreal and their former coach Marcelino on penalties, and then Benfica, on a night when the Velodrome made a roar.
“Europe encouraged us. We had the feeling of a breath of fresh air, it did us a lot of good,” Jonathan Clauss told a news conference on Wednesday. “The effects and performances gave us confidence when we were struggling. And now we come to this semi-final that will allow us to finish the season in the best possible way,” added the right-back.
Jean-Louis Gasset, who started on the Marseille bench on the night of the European Cup against Donetsk (3-1), also showed the special link that exists between continental competitions and OM, and then some. What I get is that it’s not just a club. It’s an entire village that will play in a semi-final of the European Cup. You can’t take a step without telling you. That’s how I feel. We are proud of our adventure and so it is. We are not only afraid of the club, but of the whole city,” added the Marseille coach.
On the fan side, it is also identified that the good run in C3 and the prospect of seeing Dublin on May 20 have helped to maintain a form of social peace, which has perhaps been threatened by the discomforts of a failed season in the league. But OM and their fans, despite everything, have made their way into this Europa League and are about to enjoy their third European semi-final in seven years against Atalanta.
In 2018, Rudi García’s team continued their adventure to the final, where they went on to play for Atlético de Madrid. In 2022, on the other hand, with Jorge Sampaoli, the adventure ended in the semi-finals against Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Against Atalanta, OM will be hoping to win another C3 final, which would be the fourth after the 1999, 2004 and 2018 losses. “It’s something very important and we’re happy to be able to play this semi-final against São Paulo. But we must not be content with this happiness,” warned Marseille president Pablo Longoria, who will return to a club where he was a scout at a young age in the early 2010s.
“The semi-final is not the goal, it’s the road to the final and to the chance to win a title,” he said.
News France