Monday, during the OM victory in Montpellier (2-1), on a could note several confirmations. The one that Chancel Mbemba is today one of the best defenders in Ligue 1, that his friend Éric Bailly is also provided he recovers all of his physical means, that Nuno Tavares is capable of the very high as well as the very low, and we could cite others such as the dimension taken by Valentin Rongier or that which Sead Kolasinac is taking on. But in all these comments, we forget one which, however, is in the process of jumping to the eyes: the one that Pablo Longoria went to get last summer a top-notch coach. A revelation even, with a Igor Tudor in the process of settling, like his team, at the top of the basket.
A successful bet by former Serie A players Pablo Longoria and Javier Ribalta
Because if the oldest knew the central defender of Juve at the end of the 90s, who had detected his qualities as a coach apart from the relentless of Serie A? Not many people. And precisely, if there is a relentless Calcio at OM, it is good Pablo Longoria, as well as his right arm Javier Ribalta. The two young leaders studied in Italy. At Atalanta, Sassuolo and Juve for the first, and at Turin, Milan, Juve and Parma for the second. Suffice to say that they know the emerging coaches, and even when they spread at the head of the very little media Hellas Verona. This was the case for the Croatian giant, who briefly passed through Udinese before finishing ninth with Hellas last season. A fairly meager CV, especially when it comes to getting behind the ultra-media Villas-Boas and Sampaoli in a club that is just as much.
“It requires a great athletic involvement in terms of effort and the players followed”
Tudor immediately tasted the pressure of the Vélodrome by starting under the whistles even before the kick-off of the first match. The fault of complicated friends, of course, but would a big name in the profession have been entitled to such a welcome? Certainly not. But the lack of taste was quickly dissipated, and the Croatian is now welcomed at the stadium as it should be. The result of a successful half-season in terms of results, but also and above all of the show offered. “He managed to impose his mark and give his team a real identity, confirms Marseille technician Bernard Rodriguez. It’s to his credit because that’s the hardest part. It requires a great athletic involvement in terms of effort and the players followed. It is not easy, as we have seen with Payet who remained on the bench for a long time despite his status. Its system is very interesting for players, because it requires function overruns and offers real freedom, provided you are very vigilant in terms of attention. And for us in the stands or in front of the TV, the show is there”.
Indeed, even if the phenomenon was already present last season, it is becoming very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain places today in a Velodrome that is permanently sold out. Tudor’s OM moves the crowds and that is ultimately what is fundamental. All you have to do is cross your fingers so that he doesn’t move the managers of the big European clubs too much, because that would be the logical next step…