Another resignation in Marseille – the president is gone

After a surprise defeat from Brest in Habib Beye‘s first game in charge of Marseille, the club decided that the players needed a quiet enviroment and moved to Marbelle for a few days to work in piece and practice Beye‘s tactical details. Not only Marseille are playing Lyon, their long standing enemy before Qatar bought PSG and became a force, but this game could prove crucial in their season‘s goal – a direct Champions League place. Marseille are five points behind Lyon, third in Ligue 1, ahead of today‘s clash. A draw, and especially a defeat, would significantly diminish their chances of direct qualification for the Champions League. Two years ago, Marseille had to play in the qualification round and the pressure from the club and the fans was too much – they lost to Panathinaikos, and there was a coach change.

The club wants to avoid the same scenario at all costs, but it‘s not easy to win Lyon, who snapped their 13-game non-losing streak last week but remain a very strong team.

"We want to win to get back to within two points of Lyon, knowing that there are 11 matches and 33 points left to play for. There's no fear, no anxiety. There's excitement" Habib Beye told reporters on Saturday.

New boss, same problems: Brest smash Marseille on Habib Beye's debut

But just a day before the game, another non-football event agains distracted the players and the fans. President Pablo Longoria left his post and will be replaced by the 36-year old Alban Juster. The club announced this in a short statement and also revealed that after the end of fhe season, a new president will be appointed. The club is even thinking about finding the rigth person through a recruitment agency. After the crash in which Roberto De Zerbi quit his job, sporting director Medhi Benatia soon followed only to be persuaded by the owner Frank McCourt to stay until the end of the season. He was given more power than ever and personally chose Beye as the new coach. Longoria‘s powers were deminished and he was not happy about it and decided to leave his post. Benatia also felt obligated to explain that his decision to quit the job was genuine and not because of any power-struggle.

"For many reasons, I couldn't abandon the club under these circumstances. It's a club that's dear to me, where I was trained. My thoughts about leaving had been brewing for a few weeks. I accepted the owner's request to stay until the end of the season, out of a sense of responsibility. There was no intrigue or power grab" he explained to the JDD.

LIGUE 1 - MATCHDAY 24

Friday

Strasbourg - Lens 1-1 (1-0)

/Panichelli 18 - Sangare 62/

Saturday

Rennes - Toulouse 1-0 (1-0)

/Nordin 27/

Monaco - Angers 2-0 (0-0)

/Balogun 57, Adingra 62/

Le Havre - PSG 0-1 (0-1)

/Barcola 37/

Sunday

17.00: (2.50) Paris (3.45) Nice (3.00)

19.15: (1.50) Lille (4.50) Nantes (7.00)

19.15: (2.10) Lorient (3.45) Auxerre (3.90)

19.15: (3.70) Metz (3.50) Brest (2.15)

22.45: (2.05) Olympique Marseille (3.60) Olympique Lyon (3.80)

***odds are subject to change***