Stade Velodrome must be cursed! Angry fans drive the head coach out after just seven games!

Olympique de Marseille fans are one of the most demanding -- and deluded -- fan groups in the world of football. Their lack of patience and respect led yet another coach to flee without looking back!

Just a few weeks after his arrival, Spanish tactician Marcelino Garcia Toral announced his departure to the players of OM on Tuesday morning. Club legend Jean-Pierre Papin is expected to be on the bench on Thursday against Ajax Amsterdam.

Will Marcelino's stint at OM have lasted only for seven official matches? It seems so. The Spanish coach, appointed in June to succeed Igor Tudor, announced his departure on Tuesday morning to the players in the dressing room at La Commanderie, the Olympique de Marseille's training centre. Unless there is a dramatic change of heart, he is expected to vacate his position.

Garcia Toral's team has had a disappointing start to the season, both in terms of performance and results, with an early exit from the third qualifying round of the Champions League against Panathinaikos and just two wins in six Ligue 1 matches.

The goalless draw between with Toulouse on Sunday and the overall style of play presented by Marcelino's team had already tested the patience of Marseille fanss. This was evident in the first boos of the season and the famous chants of "Give your all or leave" sung in the stands, as well as the confrontation between the leaders of the supporters and the players, with heads, bowed, facing the angry die-hards in the terraces. The supporters were getting bored and demanding a bit of excitement and a lot of character. Marcelino understood this pressure and saw it as a new challenge, having previously coached in intense atmospheres with demanding crowds, notably at Valencia, Sevilla, and Bilbao.

The soon-to-be-gone coach is deeply affected and shocked by the comments made against the club's leadership on Monday night when groups of supporters demanded an urgent meeting with the club's directors. The Spaniard could not accept that the meeting escalated to the point of threats and pressure on the executives. Marcelino's situation on Monday had only been part of the supporters' grievances, who targeted the overall policies of the Spanish leadership. Discussions with the executives are currently ongoing, and his resignation is not yet officially accepted. However, his intention is clear: he wants to leave.

A new goalkeeping star is born? Velodrome sure saw him shine

If Marcelino's departure is confirmed, Jean-Pierre Papin will likely be on the bench on Thursday in Amsterdam against Ajax in the Europa League. The 1991 Ballon d'Or winner returned to the club as an advisor to President Pablo Longoria in November 2022. In his coaching career, he successfully guided Strasbourg to promotion to Ligue 1 in 2006/07 and had a single experience in the top flight with Lens fifteen years ago. His most recent coaching role was in the National 2, the fourth tier of French football, with Chartres between 2020 and 2022.