Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa is often considered a bit otherworldly. He locks himself away with his videos, works out his schemes and struggles to relate to his players – or at least that is the popular image.
He has said that if players were not human, he would never lose. This week, though, footage emerged that suggested the stereotype may need amending. This was Bielsa the inspirational.
The video showed Bielsa pacing in the dressing room after a game. It later emerged it was after Marseille’s 0-0 draw against Lyon on March 16, when Marseille were denied a win because a tangle of bodies meant officials could not see if the ball had crossed the goal line.
Characteristically, he kept lowering his eyes to the ground and there were times when he mumbled. But the words were extraordinary; heard in their original, they raise the hairs on the back of the neck.
“Lads,” Bielsa said, “it’s very difficult to accept injustice, but listen carefully to what I tell you. If you play like you did tonight to the end of the championship, you will receive the reward you deserve.
“I know that at this point there is nothing to comfort you, I know that you are absolutely broken because you did not receive the award that you deserve.
“But accept injustice and everything will be all right in the end. We still have nine games, and if in those nine games we play like tonight, there’s no way you do not get a reward that you deserve. No matter how amazing it sounds. Swallow the poison now: you have to be strong! Play these nine games and rewards will come. I congratulate you for this! Every one of you!”
The players responded with applause and they did win 4-0 against Lens the next week, but a 3-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday left them third in the table, five points behind PSG and four behind Lyon with seven games to play.
Not only is the title slipping away, but Monaco are two points behind in fourth and could steal Uefa Champions League qualification. Marseille need something from tomorrow’s awkward game at Bordeaux if the doubts are not to swell.
With Bielsa, there are always doubts. He is brilliant in many ways, but his teams often suffer late-season collapses, the physical and emotional demands he places on them just too great. This has been a great season – Marseille have 12 points more than they did at the same stage last year – and Bielsa has given them a genuine run at the title and a sense of style, but there is a risk it will end, again, in tears.
It was around this stage that everything began to go wrong at Athletic Bilbao in 2011/12. They had enthralled Europe with their performances against Manchester United, Schalke and Sporting, but they were exhausted by the end of the season and lost the Europa League and Copa del Rey finals.
Worse, as wealthier clubs began to hover, key players began to doubt if they could endure another season of such exertion. Javi Martinez left; others, such as Fernando Llorente, were furious at being made to stay. The mood soured.
There have been no signs of trouble at Marseille yet, but it is naive to imagine there will not be departures in the summer. Andre-Pierre Gignac, Andre Ayew, Rod Fanni and Jeremy Morel are out of contract in the summer. Losing the first two, in particular, will be major blows.
The dream is not entirely dead. Marseille could win their last seven games of the season and, if they did that, they might get the reward of which Bielsa spoke. He still seems popular with the players, which was not necessarily the case at Athletic. Those who go will leave for financial reasons or to bigger clubs. That is one reason Champions League qualification is important: not qualifying makes it harder to attract players.
But it is also vital so there is some sense of achievement for what has been a fine season. Bielsa has reinvigorated a club that were struggling. It would be a desperate shame if it felt flat come the end of the season.
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