Champions League Opposition Focus: Marseille

After continuing our upward trajectory with a great win against Fulham, Spurs’ attention now turns to Europe for our first Champions League match since March 2020, where we welcome Marseille to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this coming Wednesday.

Anyone looking to continue to contribute to and reflect on the Fulham match can do so here. This is not a match preview, but rather an insight into what we’re facing on Wednesday for those unfamiliar with our opposition, and I put myself firmly into that category. The true pre-match discussion for the game’s preview will be up in due course, but for now, let’s have a gander at our French opponents.

Marseille spent big by European standards, with the Bellingham Herald highlighting how they have splashed out around 75 million euros on transfers. This outlay saw them secure Jordan Veretout from Roma and left-back Nuno Tavares on loan from Arsenal, who has flattered to deceive in England, but has scored three goals in five league games in Ligue 1 thus far. However, arguably their highest profile recruitment was Alexis Sanchez from Inter on a free transfer, someone our fanbase know all too well!

Moreover, that quartet is not the only group in their squad that will be recognisable to English fans. For instance, our fans are likely to spot former West Ham talisman Dimitri Payet, our ex-goalkeeper Pau Lopez, another ex-Gooner in Matteo Guendoozi, and former Leicester winger Cengiz Under, with the latter three making their loan moves permanent at the Stade Velodrome before this season commenced.

Regarding outgoings, Marseille lost some high-profile names this summer, including centre-back Duje Caleta-Car to Southampton, striker Arkadiusz Milik on loan to Juventus, and midfielder Kevin Strootman to Genoa.

Despite this prolific work in the summer market, last season’s head coach Jorge Sampaoli left at the conclusion of last season after guiding Marseille to second place due to his reservations over Marseille’s ambition in the upcoming transfer window. This is outlined by CBS Sports, who cite Marseille’s failure to land William Saliba and the loss of Boubacar Kamara to Aston Villa as primary contributors to Sampaoli’s departure.

Nevertheless, Sampoali has left a lasting legacy as far as Marseille’s tactical blueprint is concerned. With Sampaoli a self-confessed disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, as outlined here in the Guardian, it is unsurprising to read that the Argentinian tactician implemented a chaotic, energetic style of play that emphasises fluidity and flexibility in both defence and attack in a bid to suffocate and overwhelm their opposition.

This style made Marseille a tactical force to be reckoned with in France last season, and more can be read about how they set up last season in Get Football News France’s excellent tactical insight into our opponents, which highlights their strengths and weaknesses. The article is easy to understand for a tactical layman, and shows us what we can expect of the French lads come Wednesday. I highly recommend it!

Bear in mind, however, that this report was published last season, and since then, they have lost players such as Kamara, who was key in both their offensive and defensive phases of play, and of course, the coach who implemented this style in the first place.

Current coach Igor Tudor has built on this legacy by maintaining this energetic style of play to great effect, leading his side to five wins and a draw from their opening six league games. A tough game awaits no doubt, but with the home advantage, I’d put this game under the “must-win” category – a risky game, I know!