The Ligue 1 side did not have a great preseason by any means and now travel to Turkey to face
Eskişehirspor in the third round of the Europa League qualifiers
Five friendly matches and just one win, Olympique de Marseille’s attack has not really set the tone for the rest of the campaign and this Thursday, the Ligue 1 outfit travel to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Turkey-c3026 to face a tough task in the first leg of the third round of the Europa
League qualifiers against Eskişehirspor.
Les Phoceens travel to Eskişehir without the five players in Loic Remy, Diawara, N’Diaye, Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Doumbou.
Today, new coach, Elie Baup has been plunged into the reality of Marseille – a club with a small workforce and quality which is certainly uneven. Tonight’s game against the Turkish Super Lig side would be a real test of all sorts for this troubled Marseille
side.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rod-Fanni-c31402, who has been at the club for long enough to know that things are not going well, has admitted that the club has now entered a period of truth and even though they are prepared, the team is not 100%.
The game against Eskişehirspor will deliver empirical evidence on the physical level of the team. Furthermore, the game will also give Baup an idea of how much improvement the team needs to make before the 2012/2013 Championnat kicks off later this month.
And, Baup admits that the team needs to improve a lot.
“We are not ready collectively yet. We still need to work out in order to improve the recovery and use of ball. There are adjustments to be made but we must compensate mentally by the desire to make efforts for eachother. We are looking for a team mentality.”
The new coach of the Rhone club has made his priority especially with the restrictions imposed due to the club’s financial woes.
“Anyway, it’s a real cup game in Europe. For me, if we qualify, we’ll see, we will manage”, said Baup when asked about how the squad will fare in continental and domestic front.
Marseille have targeted to finish in the top 5 this season so fans should not be surprised if their beloved team faces an early elimination in Europa League this season.
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