Marseille‘s Ultras in a late night meeting with De Zerbi, players, Longoria

It‘s just beginning of February, but Marseille is already in trouble. Since the season 2019/20, the famous French club managed only three second places in Ligue 1, and their last trophy was way back in 2010 when they beat Bordeaux 3-1 in Coupe de la Ligue Final. At the moment, they are third in Ligue 1 with seven points less than the second placed Lens and they are out of Europe. So, the cup is their only opportunity to save the season with any kind of trophy, especially since PSG was knocked out in the previous round. The problem is, they are not facing some lower league team, they are facing Rennes at home, and they are in a middle of (another) result crisis.

So, in order to rally the troops ahead of tonight‘s match, representatives of Marseille‘s supporters groups held a meeting on Monday evening. Players, staff and club officials gathered at the Robert Louis-Dreyfus Training Centre for a 90-minute meeting. Everyone was there, from Roberto De Zerbi, sporting director Mehdi Benatia and president Pablo Longoria to the players. As per RMC Sport, around 50 supporters attended the discussion, which passed without tension or confrontation, according to those present. The meeting was organised with the aim of restoring unity at a key moment in the season, following a run of inconsistent results.

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On their behalf, the fans vowed to support the club as they always do while the executives assured them of the quality of the squad, although they all agreed that the inconsistent performances were the biggest issue this season. The Champions League participation was named as the ultimate goal come May 2026 and the players also addressed the fans. Captain Leonardo Balerdi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Timothy Weah talked and promised their fully commitment against Rennes on Tuesday. Coach De Zerbi once again declared his willingness to stay in Marseille long-term but admitted he could not fully explain the side’s inconsistency this season. The meeting ended on a positive note and the supporters said that around 60.000 fans are expected, emphasisinig that a defeat is not an option.

France - Cup Round of 16

Tuesday

22.30: (2.00) Reims (3.40) Le Mans (3.90)

23.10: (1.65) Olympique Marseille (4.50) Rennes (5.00)

Wednesday

22.30: (2.20) Lorient (3.35) Paris (3.35)

22.30: (1.70) Nice (3.70) Montpellier (5.10)

22.30: (1.23) Olympique Lyon (6.25) Laval (13.0)

22.30: (1.28) Toulouse (5.70) Amiens (10.5)

23.00: (6.00) Troyes (4.10) Lens (1.55)

Thursday

23.00: (2.40) Strasbourg (3.45) Monaco (2.90)

* odds are subject to change