Marseille's Bold Pivot: De Zerbi Out as the South Finds a New Game Plan
11 February 2026
De Zerbi's sun eclipsed in the South of France.
What happened
Olympique Marseille announced early Wednesday that Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi has left the club, ending his tenure in the South of France after a year and a half.
The decision followed intensive talks between the club's management and the coach, described as a difficult collective decision made for the team's sake.
The move comes amid a sharp drop in results, highlighted by a 3-0 European Champions League exit to Club Brugge, then a 5-0 league defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The club said the separation was by mutual agreement after De Zerbi felt drained and unable to lift the players' spirits, especially after the locker-room frustrations following the latest results.
While Marseille sit fourth in Ligue 1, 12 points behind the leaders, attention turns to interim solutions for the Strasbourg game on Saturday.
With internal names already floated, the usual emergency pick is Jack Abardonado, alongside Romain Ferrier, the reserve-team coach.
Next steps
Internal candidates are being discussed, and the club expects to name a temporary coach shortly while exploring longer-term options.
Sniper line 1: If football were a joke, Marseille would be delivering the encore—same cast, new lines.
Sniper line 2: The transfer window has spoken: more drama, please, with better punchlines.
