“Marseille has at all times been the port of exiles… Right here, anybody who arrives at some point on the port is inevitably at residence,” Izzo additionally wrote about Marseille.
After an eighth-placed end final season, the membership kicked off a radical overhaul – welcoming an eclectic assortment of misfits and skilled gamers attracted by De Zerbi’s new mission. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Neal Maupay and Adrien Rabiot all arrived citing De Zerbi as an element.
English pair Jonathan Rowe and Mason Greenwood joined the Anglophone contingent on the membership together with Canada worldwide Derek Cornelius.
“The large distinction was Roberto de Zerbi calling me out of the blue. I used to be a bit stunned by it as a result of it is the primary time a supervisor has gone out of his solution to name me and say he desires me,” former Norwich winger Rowe informed BBC Sport.
“The coach has been a bit extra intricate with the small print: your physique form, the way you go into video games, the way you assume and keep targeted in a sport. There’s quite a lot of info to soak up.”
“He is very demanding, probably the greatest coaches on the planet. He is one of many explanation why I got here right here,” added Greenwood earlier than the ultimate sport of the season. “Now we have a terrific relationship and he places me in one of the best place in order that I can categorical myself.
“We have additionally needed to study when to be affected person, when to play a bit faster when now we have quite a lot of the ball and break down defences. So he is taught me lots about easy methods to play my sport.”
Greenwood joined the membership from Manchester United final summer season in a deal price as much as 31.6m euros (£26.6m). Critical prices in opposition to him, together with tried rape and assault, have been dropped in February 2023.
“We took the choice internally. OK, there was some opposition, that was goal,” mentioned Marseille membership president Longoria in September. “However on the similar time that gave us energy to perhaps not examine, as a result of I am not a choose, however to make use of all the data to make one of the best resolution, which I believe we did.”
Greenwood scored twice on his Ligue 1 debut in a 5-1 win over Brest and went on to complete with 21 targets, breaking the report of probably the most targets in a debut season for a Marseille participant within the twenty first century, forward of Bafetimbi Gomis (20) and Didier Drogba (19).
His targets gained 16 extra factors for the membership – the very best of any participant in Ligue 1 this season, in accordance with Opta.
Marseille’s capacity for attacking explosivity on the pitch beneath De Zerbi was considerable from the beginning of the season. Les Olympiens broke a number of goalscoring and possession information, scoring 74 targets in 34 video games this season, with solely an all-conquering Paris St-Germain aspect netting extra in Ligue 1.
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