Last year, Dimitri Payet was an essential element of the system proposed by Jorge Sampaoli at Olympique de Marseille. He was even one of those who lifted the stadium with a gesture. Yes, but now, the Argentinian, who has since returned to Seville, left and was replaced by Igor Tudor.
The Croatian loves his teams when they run and for that he needs elements that can repeat high intensity runs. Which is not really the case with Dimitri Payet and even less at his age. So, inevitably, he plays little, too little. He did not even come into play against Tottenham when the Phocaeans had to win against Spurs completely regrouped.
Tudor regrets not having him play
” I think I made a mistake, Payet should have played. Coaches always make mistakes. I could have done better. Clauss could also have stayed on the pitch. It’s just self-criticism. Putting a striker like Suare in place of Suarez, I could have done differently “Explained the coach at a press conference this Friday.
But, that same Friday, the attacking midfielder was present in front of the media, for the second time this season. The journalists took the opportunity to ask him how he felt and that did not affect his morale too much. ” I was frustrated leaving the Commandery. Between the time we left and the time we arrived and saw what was coming, I was frustrated not to be on the pitch, like always. I work to be sure of the pitch, the coach makes choices, you have to respect him. If Ünder crosses and Kola scores, it’s the change of the century and no one talks about me. I train to play and if I return, I will give everything. The frustration is great because we want to go back to help our teammates and we can’t “, he began by explaining.
His future is at OM
But he then returned to his moods since the start of the season and his role as captain while he is on the bench: “ No, I worked a lot to be in shape. I feel good. I think that in the last match in Strasbourg, I had good feelings. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a full match. Obviously, that was not what I had in mind at the start of the season. If the coach makes choices and thinks the team can be better without me, he has reasons. It’s up to me to prove him wrong and put problems in his head when he has to know who to put on the pitch. It’s easier because you have an outside eye and you see different things. On Tuesday evening, for example, we can talk about it more easily, about certain actions for example. We can help partners differently. The status of captain, substitute or holder, you have to be there for the team and make sure that everyone is well in his head “.
Should we conclude that this calls into question his status as “Marseillais for life”? Nay. ” Why argue with leaders? It was never my way. Every time I went through times when I was playing less, I worked to get back on the pitch. It’s not at my age that I’m going to complain. The coach decides, I’m not going to go see the leaders. I could go see the coach, but not even. If I am decisive and at my level, the coach is not crazy, he will necessarily put me. It’s up to me to make sure I get back to my place. My future is at OM and I’m not going to throw in the towel today “, he concluded. A good omen for the future… and for OM.
