This Sunday at 8:45pm (broadcast on DAZN in France), Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Olympique de Marseille (3rd) at the Stade Vélodrome as part of Matchday 9 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. At a press conference on Friday, Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi spoke about the importance of the match, his Parisian counterpart Luis Enrique, and the tactics he will use to face his opponents.
De Zerbi “Luis Enrique has been one of the best coaches in the world for years.”
“A highly anticipated Classico with a narrow gap between the teams?
It’s a match everyone’s looking forward to. Not just the fans, but also us in the dressing room. When you play for OM, you have to realize that it’s a club that’s different from the others. Time will tell the difference between the teams. What counts are the facts, and it’s only with time that we’ll see whether the gap is different or not.
Luis Enrique?
Luis Enrique has been one of the best coaches in the world for years. Not just since he’s been at PSG. He’s proved that he’s a top coach. He’s obviously a reference for me. I like the way he plays. After that, I don’t know him personally and I haven’t played against him. I like the person and the way he behaves. I think very highly of him.
De Zerbi: “We mustn’t forget that we’re OM, and that we want to have the ball.”
What’s your game plan?
It’s difficult to counter these teams. If we block the centre and midfield, we run the risk of leaving Barcola and Dembélé on the flanks in one-on-one situations. If we block the flanks, we run the risk of giving them more possession. We need to find the right mix.
But we mustn’t forget that we’re OM and that we want to have the ball. It’ll be difficult, but at OM you have to have the ambition to win these games. Otherwise, we might as well change clubs. The PSG group has been living together for a very long time.
I’ve only been with OM for two months. What’s important is to have the ambition to play the game in a certain way. There are times when we’re going to have to put up with it, and you have to be ready for that. comments relayed by But!
It’s a special match, of course, even if it’s worth as many points as the others. In fact, even in this respect, it appears to be a special match, since a win for OM would bring them level on points with PSG. PSG, on the other hand, could eliminate a rival.
All of which adds to the stakes of the Classico, which has sometimes lacked them in recent years. But that hasn’t prevented the match from being intense and entertaining. We should be well served here.
All the more so with two coaches who love attacking football. Luis Enrique will be able to appreciate De Zerbi’s praise, and their opposition should be very interesting to watch. Be careful, though, as the challenge here is to get the ball without being exposed. We mustn’t arrive at a closed match. Even if Marseille’s coach is clear, the idea of the game will not be changed.
