Marseille’s new boss Jorge Sampaoli wants to follow in Marcelo Bielsa’s footsteps after taking power at the Ligue 1 club, but has warned that he is pursuing his own ideas.
Argentinian was officially introduced
On Tuesday, the Argentine was officially nominated to replace Andre Villas Boas, who has spent the past two years in the Brazilian Serie A with Santos and Atletico Mineiro. He is now tasked with saving what has turned into a tough season for OM, who has weathered the turmoil on and off the pitch.
“Bielsa is an example to many, I feel close to him in the game, but I will not try to be like him,” Sampaoli told reporters at his first press conference as coach of Marseille. “I will do it my own way, not imitating him.” Sampaoli, who last coached in Europe at Sevilla before leaving for Argentina in 2017, also said he intends to impose an offensive philosophy on his new charges.
He said that they will start looking at the team to make decisions in the short and long term and that their philosophy is to move forward, not their own. The goal is to implement the philosophy of the game.
We want players to adhere to our gaming philosophy.
“We offered some tools to get the team out of this dire state. We want players to adhere to our gaming philosophy. Some of them will be able to adapt quickly, others will not. Our role is to convince the team.”
Sampaoli has the upper hand and Marseille languishes in eighth place, five points behind Lens in the Europa League final qualifying spot, and with a game in hand. The club has won only one of its last 11 Ligue matches and twice since early 2021. Off-field tensions peaked in January when Marseille’s ultras rushed into training to protest the poor performance, causing significant damage to the sports facilities and forcing the postponement of the game against Rennes.