Under head coach Jorge Sampaoli, who succeeded Andre Villas-Boas in February 2021,
Marseille have recruited smartly.
William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi have joined on loan from Arsenal,
while Konrad de la Fuente and Cengiz Under add pace and flair out wide. Young Borussia Dortmund
centre-back Leonardo Balerdi has also been signed, in addition to full-back Pol Lirola,
defender Luan Peres and stylish Brazilian midfielder Gerson, for €25m from Flamengo.
And Sampaoli, a self-declared ‘disciple’ of Marcelo Bielsa,
who of course himself managed Marseille, promises to deliver an exciting,
tactically fascinating style of football at the Stade Velodrome.
Sampaoli has followed Bielsa before, taking over as Chile men’s head coach in 2012 after Bielsa had
been in charge. This followed an incredible stint in charge of Universidad de Chile,
so far Sampaoli’s most successful tenure. And while Bielsa started brilliantly with Marseille,
leading the league in December 2014 before falling away to finish fourth in his one full season,
Sampoli will be hoping he can marshal his new resources to challenge for the title in Ligue 1.
Having taken over last season, Sampaoli shifted Marseille to a back three,
regularly lining up with the same sort of 3-4-1-2 system
he used to great effect with Chile. This system saw width maintained by the wing backs,
although sometimes one centre back also drifts wider to facilitate ball progression from deep.
The central midfielders alternate ahead and behind opposition lines of pressure,
so that there is always a kind of diamond shape through which to recirculate the ball deep.
This 3-4-1-2 then forms a sort of 3-2-5 or even a 2-3-5 in the attacking phase,
with plenty of rotation among the players’ positions.
As with Guardiola-coached sides who look like this in the final third, a frequent aim is to
achieve cut-backs from the spaces between the six yard box and the horizontal edge of the box.
The attacking focus with any Sampaoli team is possession and verticality.
This means moving the ball quickly through the opposition lines,
but doing this through quick pass and move rotations rather than just
lumping it up the pitch. All players need to be comfortable on the ball to achieve this style,
which is why watching the development of Saliba especially will be fascinating.
Sampaoli’s teams generally press ferociously, although this can take time to institute.
Marseille will also generally try to stop up the middle of the pitch, forcing teams wide,
and then pressing those areas hard to effect turnovers into counter-attacking situations.
Last season, they tended to defend their half of the pitch zonally with a compact block,
channelling the opposition wide; it’s an area of difference from Bielsa,
but Sampaoli does also tend to favour having a spare man at the back like Bielsa does.
So far, Marseille have had a mixed start and performances have showcased the good and bad
of the team and what makes them such a confounding, but exhilarating watch.
Sampaoli has already shown some points of difference, the main shift being the use of
four midfielders in a flexible square ahead of the back three. This is another Bielsa tenet: the idea
that rotation requires players to be comfortable in a variety of positions and roles and so using
midfielders in defence or wide, but deep, areas, gives this this degree of flexibility.
Generally, Sampaoli has deployed a kind of 3-3-1-3, with Dimitri Payet starting in a
false nine role. The wing backs of last season have been replaced by central midfielders,
which brings noticeable differences tactically.
Build-up is initially narrow, with the back three splitting but the midfield box, with Gerson and
Guendouzi ahead of Pape Gueye, Valentin Rongier, or Boubacar Kamara, staying mostly central.
Width is now maintained by the wingers, while Gerson especially makes plenty of runs in to out
and towards the wide left area. Guendouzi also moves into a right wing back role
if Marseille cannot progress the ball vertically through the centre,
with one of the deeper midfielders doing a similar job on the left, but tucked in more.
Gerson’s movement into the wide left area allows de la Fuente to make underlapping runs and often
gives Marseille a staggered 3-2-5 shape when in possession deep in the opposition half. It
also gives the side multiple passing options in deep build-up, with the wingers doing a
huge amount of work to offer receiving options either wide or tucking in. This makes Marseille
quite press-resistant in their own half, as there are plenty of ways to progress the ball
through quick rotations in midfield, with the fanned-out defenders offering recycling options.
Presence in the box has been supplemented by runs from midfield, with Guendouzi especially
aggressive, while the wingers also hit the box when the ball is coming from the opposite side.
Payet has a free role, dropping deep to facilitate attacks,
drive forwards, or staying high for crosses or through balls. These rotations
make Marseille hard to mark but can leave them lacking a genuine striker in the box.
It also requires a lot from the players and can leave the side open on the counter.
And early games this season have shown Marseille’s weaknesses, as well as their strengths.
The set up leaves a lot of space out wide, asking a lot from the centre
backs to cover the spaces that orthodox full backs or wing backs would cover.
This is especially clear on counters when they are in the attacking 3-2-5 shape, where the midfield
double pivot and centre backs can be pulled out of shape with good passing and movement.
So, this is a highwire act: brilliant in attack, vulnerable in defence, and capable
of throwing away a lead. Whatever Marseille do this season, it will be worth paying attention.