Latest news with #PabloLongoria
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marseille Sporting Director Hails Inter Milan New Boy: ‘Great Player & Person, I Wasn't Always Easy On Him'
Marseille Sporting Director Mehdi Benatia says that new Inter Milan signing Luis Henrique is 'a great player and person.' Speaking in the official 'Sans jamais rien lacher' documentary, via FCInterNews, Benatia also admitted that he 'wasn't always easy on' the Brazilian. Inter Milan signed winger Luis Henrique from Marseille this summer. The Nerazzurri had identified the 23-year-old as a target long before the start of the transfer window. They had reportedly already started to sound out a move in the spring. Henrique is a player who Inter reportedly see as an ideal backup to Denzel Dumfries on the right flank. Furthermore, the Brazilian has pace and, above all, dribbling ability. That sort of one-on-one flair has not always been present in Inter's squad in recent seasons. Marseille Sporting Director Benatia: 'Luis Henrique A Great Player & Person' SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JUNE 21: Luis Henrique #11 of FC Internazionale Milano controls the ball while under pressure from Yoichi Naganuma #88 of Urawa Red Diamonds during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group E match between FC Internazionale Milano and Urawa Red Diamonds at Lumen Field on June 21, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) Marseille Sporting Director Mehdi Benatia commented that 'Luis has a great story.' 'He's a player who Pablo [Longoria, Marseille President] always believed in.' 'When I arrived in November, he was returning from Botafogo,' Benatia said of Henrique. 'And I asked Pablo what he would do with him.' 'He replied that he'd always liked him. I asked about his mentality, and he said that he was a great guy.' 'So I had his agents come to my office with him. I said 'I wanted to see you because I know who you are, but I want to know what you can give me.'' 'He replied: 'Okay, no problem. I'm always available – even if I have to play fifteen, twenty minutes, that's fine.' 'Then he played at home against Monaco,' said Benatia. 'And he had a memorable match.' 'I looked at Pablo. And I said, 'We can't let him go.'' 'So we extended his contract,' said the Marseille Sporting Director. 'And I told his agents we can work on it, me here and them behind the scenes.' 'If the player is serious then he can join a top club the way I see it.' Benatia said that 'above all, he's a good guy.' 'Even though I had moments during the season where I wasn't very easy on him, he deserves to have a great career.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Roberto De Zerbi rejects Tottenham Hotspur approach
According to a report from Fabrizio Romano, Olympique de Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi has rejected an approach from Tottenham Hotspur, with the Italian intending to stay with Les Olympiens next season. Spurs are preparing to advance talks to replace Ange Postecoglou at the Premier League side, with Brentford manager Thomas Frank in pole position for the job. Spurs reportedly approached De Zerbi for the job in recent days, with other reports suggesting he was one of the candidates also for the Inter Milan job. The club and De Zerbi dispelled the Inter rumour last week, with the Italian speaking to the press after becoming an Honory Citizen of Foggia 'I'm happy in Marseille and I haven't received any calls from other clubs, I want to do good things in the right way there.' After a summit held in the US following the end of the season, De Zerbi agreed with club president Pablo Longoria, sporting director Medhi Benatia, and owner Frank McCourt that he would renew his commitment to the club ahead of a return to Champions League football at the Vélodrome next season. GFFN | George Boxall
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Rebellion, ritiros & Waddle - 'ultra' De Zerbi's year at Marseille
"When I was aged 13-14, in the AC Milan youth academy, my coach told me to start following Marseille and Chris Waddle," Roberto de Zerbi discreetly revealed after Marseille's final game of the season. "That's when I fell in love with Marseille. I started following the club because of (former England winger) Waddle."It followed a season full of lively - and at times fiery - pressers at the Velodrome and the La Commanderie training ground. The Italian found in France's oldest city something that mirrored his past and his own temperament."The city of Marseille and the club of Marseille are similar to me in a way. I was looking for an environment that could make me dream," said the former Brighton boss in early Zerbi is a natural fit for the heat at Olympique de Marseille. His football demands conviction, and so does the city. As local poet Jean-Claude Izzo once wrote: "Here, you have to take sides. Be passionate. Be for, be against. Just be, intensely."At the end of the season the Italian was caught up in jubilant celebrations, waving a flare with supporters that had greeted the Marseille squad at 4am at Provence Airport. "I was born an ultra," De Zerbi exclaimed to DAZN only weeks was not a title win - but finishing second in Ligue 1 and qualifying for the Champions League felt nonetheless appointment of the passionate Italian was viewed as an "impossible dream" by club president Pablo Longoria when he made a call last summer after De Zerbi departed dream teetered on the edge of chaos several times this season, testing the tactical and emotional limits of one of the most promising coaches of the past decade. 'The Port of Exiles' - OM's summer overhaul "Marseille has always been the port of exiles... Here, anyone who arrives one day at the port is inevitably at home," Izzo also wrote about an eighth-placed finish last season, the club kicked off a radical overhaul - welcoming an eclectic collection of misfits and experienced players attracted by De Zerbi's new project. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Neal Maupay and Adrien Rabiot all arrived citing De Zerbi as a pair Jonathan Rowe and Mason Greenwood joined the Anglophone contingent at the club along with Canada international Derek Cornelius."The big difference was Roberto de Zerbi calling me out of the blue. I was a bit taken aback by it because it's the first time a manager has gone out of his way to call me and say he wants me," former Norwich winger Rowe told BBC Sport."The coach has been a bit more intricate with the details: your body shape, how you go into games, how you think and stay focused in a game. There's a lot of information to take in.""He's very demanding, one of the best coaches in the world. He's one of the reasons why I came here," added Greenwood before the final game of the season. "We have a great relationship and he puts me in the best position so that I can express myself."We've also had to learn when to be patient, when to play a bit quicker when we have a lot of the ball and break down defences. So he's taught me a lot about how to play my game."Greenwood joined the club from Manchester United last summer in a deal worth up to 31.6m euros (£26.6m). Serious charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February 2023."We took the decision internally. OK, there was some opposition, that was objective," said Marseille club president Longoria in September. "But at the same time that gave us power to maybe not investigate, because I'm not a judge, but to use all the information to make the best decision, which I think we did."Greenwood scored twice on his Ligue 1 debut in a 5-1 win over Brest and went on to finish with 21 goals, breaking the record of the most goals in a debut season for a Marseille player in the 21st century, ahead of Bafetimbi Gomis (20) and Didier Drogba (19).His goals won 16 additional points for the club - the highest of any player in Ligue 1 this season, according to ability for attacking explosivity on the pitch under De Zerbi was abundant from the start of the season. Les Olympiens broke several goalscoring and possession records, scoring 74 goals in 34 games this season, with only an all-conquering Paris St-Germain side netting more in Ligue 1. Reports of mutiny & a Roman rebirth Yet after a run of five losses in seven games, the season would take a turn for the surreal. Following defeat by Reims in March, a report from French newspaper L'Equipe alluded to tensions arising between De Zerbi and his players - going as far to suggest a 'mutiny' had taken Zerbi hit back: "Some people made me out to be a criminal. It's not fair. I'm a good person. My mum called me this morning and asked: 'What did you do?'""There is no rift between us," claimed former Brentford and Brighton striker Maupay during the same news conference. "He is so passionate and committed... In families or couples, you have to be able to talk things through."After concerns around the team environment, De Zerbi - along with Longoria and sporting director Medhi Benatia - made the collective decision to take the squad on a training retreat to had been on a team bonding camp following a defeat earlier in the season by Auxerre, but this 'ritiro' - often a practice for Serie A teams - involved the team's 50-man sporting operation moving to the outskirts of the Italian capital late in the season."We've thought with the club about doing everything we can to reach our objective," said De Zerbi. "It's not a punishment - it's simply to help the team reconnect. The players agreed. It won't change their lives, but it could change their careers."As the world turned its eyes to Rome following the death of Pope Francis, Marseille found a kind of rebirth of their own in the Eternal City. De Zerbi visited the Vatican with club representatives to pay his respects - before focus switched back to Champions League rooftop barbecues and work on the training pitch, away from the prying eyes of La Commanderie, ended up being what was needed to make the difference in the final games of the season."I had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday there - I had never been to Italy before," smiled Rowe. "We really managed to create better cohesion and become more united."Sixteen goals in the final five games of the season earned big wins over Brest and Montpellier, with a victory at Le Havre sparking scenes of celebration. A release of tension as De Zerbi, his players and staff all flooded the away section."I believe this is more than a miracle," the Italian said afterwards."We spent time together, had dinner together. We trained less, but we worked a lot on unity and it showed on the pitch; it's a family."It's not true that the players were against me; that hurt me. There was never any mutiny." 'I love conflict, I love controversy' The first act of the De Zerbi story at Marseille has proved to be a whirlwind that has reached a satisfactory conclusion for all parties: Champions League qualification."I love conflict, I love controversy. I think it's part of football and part of this club's DNA. You can't change that," said Longoria at his end-of-season news conference."With Roberto, we started a cycle that we set out in a three-year contract. I think we're in a good place."We want to find continuity, let the adrenaline that is associated with this club die down."After a summit held in the US, Marseille confirmed the commitment between Longoria, De Zerbi, Benatia and American owner Frank McCourt to continue working so there will be a second act to De Zerbi's odyssey in the south of France, one that will see the coach compete in Europe's elite competition for the first time since his tenure at Shakhtar Donetsk in than 30 years after first falling for the OM of Waddle, it will be the Italian's turn to try to re-energise Marseille's proud European heritage.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Marseille president rules out move to sign Man City great De Bruyne
MARSEILLE: Kevin De Bruyne will be hot property when he leaves Manchester City and many clubs would love to sign him next season. Marseille are not one of them. Club president Pablo Longoria has ruled out a move for the 33-year-old playmaker because he thinks signing a player of such stature might prove disruptive. 'If we take a player with a much higher salary than the players we have in the squad today, who qualified us for the Champions League, it destroys all the balance, all the good things, the good dynamic the players built,' Longoria said. 'It would be, on the part of a club, a total lack of respect for the players who helped us qualify for the Champions League.' Marseille finished second in Ligue 1 behind champion Paris Saint-Germain and qualified directly for next season's Champions League. De Bruyne was set to make his final home appearance for City later Tuesday against Bournemouth after 10 trophy-laden years at the club. He is one of City's greatest ever players and won 16 trophies with the club, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. De Bruyne shares the record for the highest number of assists in a single Premier League season with 20, and scored more than 100 goals for City.
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Marseille president rules out move to sign Man City great De Bruyne
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Kevin De Bruyne will be hot property when he leaves Manchester City and many clubs would love to sign him next season. Marseille is not one of them. Club president Pablo Longoria has ruled out a move for the 33-year-old playmaker because he thinks signing a player of such stature might prove disruptive. 'If we take a player with a much higher salary than the players we have in the squad today, who qualified us for the Champions League, it destroys all the balance, all the good things, the good dynamic the players built,' Longoria said. 'It would be, on the part of a club, a total lack of respect for the players who helped us qualify for the Champions League.' Marseille finished second in Ligue 1 behind champion Paris Saint-Germain and qualified directly for next season's Champions League. De Bruyne was set to make his final home appearance for City later Tuesday against Bournemouth after 10 trophy-laden years at the club. He is one of City's greatest ever players and won 16 trophies with the club, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. De Bruyne shares the record for the highest number of assists in a single Premier League season with 20, and scored more than 100 goals for City. ___ AP soccer:
