The winds of change are blowing turbulent in Marseille. André Villas-Boas resigned as coach of Les Phocéens this Wednesday, a request that received instant response from the entity, which suspended him from employment and salary at the time. The Portuguese coach made the decision by considering the signing of Olivier Ntcham as the last straw for his patience. As well, it activated a casting urgently to take the place they left and, as AS has learned, Olympique is going after Rafa Benítez.
The Spanish coach is currently without a team since he left Dalian Professional FC on 23 January of the Chinese Super League. The Madrilenian left the Asian country to be closer to his family in times of pandemic and his return to the pitch could be more than close. And it is that, to the aforementioned interest in joining the cause of Marseille, we must add other offers that are around him in recent times.
Further, There is a background behind the Portuguese's resignation, the altercations caused by the club's ultras. The most radical fans took the field days ago, attacked Álvaro González and asked the board of directors goodbye, thus causing the suspension of the weekend's clash against Rennes. That pressure would have led Villas-Boas to make the resounding decision.
Performance slump
The previously mentioned turbulences are not only linked to the Villas-Boas earthquake, since the team, which started the season with a bang and was fighting for Ligue 1 with Lille, Lyon and PSG, has seen the latest results take it away from the fight and places them in ninth position, ten points behind European positions. Although, yes, with two games less.
In this way, Benítez would find himself in a brave situation, both sportingly and institutionally, with the added pressure of the dissatisfaction of the ultras, in which it would be the first adventure in Ligue 1 for the Madrilenian. A new notch in a track record full of great teams: Valencia, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Naples, Real Madrid, Newcastle …