Losing a pre-season friendly shouldn’t cause distress at any level. Hey, it’s what those kinds of games are for – for trial and error. But every little failure and misunderstanding can cause a meltdown at a club where the foundations are crocked. For Olympique de Marseille, very few things are going the way they should. The main cause of misunderstandings and tensions is the new coach.OM boss Igor Tudor showed contempt to the press after his team lost the friendly against AC Milan on Sunday night. Tudor does not bother with too many manners, and his dressing room is more than aware of that.One of the recent recruits, Jonathan Clauss, was sent to speak to the press following the defeat. He spent most of the time saying that the team should respect the coach, trust his ideas and try to progress as a team. “You have to trust the coach. Otherwise, it will be complicated. We have to trust him and believe in his words. Pull in the same direction.”Igor Tudor’s Marseille roundly booed by their fans following a 2-0 loss to AC Milan in their final friendly match before the new Ligue 1 season. (RMC) pic.twitter.com/0xVgvz40rz— Get French Football News (@GFFN) July 31, 2022 So, where does this need to defend the coach comes from? It’s the team’s dissatisfaction with how the Croatian tactician treats them. All the signals transpired from the group since his arrival tells of tension between the coach and players during the gruelling pre-season training camp.However, it’s not only the players who find it tough to work with Tudor. One of the Croat’s closest associates and his former teammate from Juventus, Mauro Camoranesi, initially recruited to be his assistant at Stade Velodrome, suddenly decided to leave OM after only a few days. Club leaders tried to explain that it was the plan all along, but they convinced no one. In his first press conference in Marseille, Tudor presented Camoranesi as his “right arm”. The last time we checked, you didn’t get rid of your right arm after a few days.##NAJAVA_MECA_6541397##Several young players discovered the straightforward, even brittle tone of the Croatian. Brazilian midfielder Gerson also experienced the wrath of the former centre-back. The two men had a heated altercation during a training session in England. The coach was angry about the Brazilian’s nonchalance and the player was annoyed by the way the Croat was talking to them. There is no good communication in the camp and the tension is boiling over – before the season had evens started.Others have tasted Tudor’s undiplomatic tone, like Jordan Amavi. The left-back also had a run-in with the coach on the same day as Gerson. But while the Brazilian was not punished, Amavi was dropped from the squad and is training on the sidelines alongside the transfer-listed Kevin Strootman.Addio Italia, bonne journee France: Ramsey signs for NiceMatteo Guendouzi and his teammates do not understand this desire to change everything after a successful season where Les Marseilles finished second in Ligue 1 and qualified for the Champions League. A source close to the players told L’Equipe that Tudor arrived and told everyone that they don’t run enough, don’t work enough and don’t play as they should. Of course, that creates tension. To appease his teammates, Dimitri Payet has in vain asked for a meeting with club president Pablo Longoria. The Spaniard is put in an unfavourable position, having to defend the coach he installed while also seeing the players grow restless.Instead of preparing for the glamour of the Champions League, OM find themselves in yet another messy situation. To them, it’s just another day at the office.
