Christophe Dugarry Criticizes Roberto De Zerbi’s Coaching Skills

It’s been a tough week for Olympique de Marseille. The club, managed by Roberto De Zerbi, has faced two losses in three days: first against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, followed by a defeat to Lens in Ligue 1 (2-1). These results have raised concerns for Christophe Dugarry. The 1998 World Cup champion struggles to understand some choices made by the Italian coach and is not convinced by his decisions. He remarked, “If it’s just to secure second place in the league, I’m not too worried. But if the goal is to qualify directly for the Champions League knockout stage, then I’m more concerned. There’s some margin for the playoffs. I can understand De Zerbi and (Mehdi) Benatia downplaying the failures of these two matches, as they are in their roles. Remember last season; every loss was a crisis. They don’t want to repeat that, which is understandable. However, I’m sorry, this attitude doesn’t work. Explaining that these were ‘the best 20 minutes’ is simply not enough to win a match…” he stated on RMC this Monday.

“We’re already hearing talk of fatigue concerning De Zerbi. If that’s the case after just 12 matches, it’s worrying. Five losses in 12 games is a lot… Once again, I’m concerned about De Zerbi. I was apprehensive about the Rennes match (loss, 1-0). His players weren’t performing well against Real Madrid (loss, 2-1), and he failed to make effective substitutions. They were very poor and likely cost the match or at least contributed to the defeat against Lisbon. Once again, he didn’t seem inspired; he couldn’t create a momentum that allows his team to regroup when they’re trailing or even leading. I feel like he panics with his substitutions… For now, I’m not fully convinced by him,” Dugarry added. After the loss in Bollaert, Marseille dropped from first place to third in Ligue 1.