This is another illustration of the saying that everything goes very fast in football.
Scheduled for Saturday January 30, the reception of the Stade Rennais by Olympique de Marseille was postponed until Wednesday March 10 (7 p.m.), the fault of the incidents at the Commanderie on the day of the match.
Since then, André Villas-Boas has been thanked by OM and Julien Stéphan has tendered his resignation in Brittany.
This meeting will ultimately be the first of Jorge Sampaoli on the Phocaeans bench, but also that of Bruno Genesio, appointed in Rennes less than a week ago.
But one thing has not changed since the initial date of the match: the two teams, respectively 8th and 10th in Ligue 1, are sick, perhaps even more than before.
The shape: Marseille with its head in the seal
The local press did not go hand in hand with Olympique de Marseille, eliminated in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France last Sunday by Canet-en-Roussillon, amateur club of National 2 (2-1).
As reported by
L'Équipe
, Jorge Sampaoli did not raise the subject with his players during the first training session he led on Monday, so as not to break them down.
However, the Argentine, who concocts a 5-3-2 on the ground, would have been "appalled" by what he saw on Sunday.
A performance that was in line with OM's last 11 Ligue 1 matches, for a record of one victory, 5 draws and 5 defeats.
During its first press conference on Tuesday, Sampaoli judged this dynamic "not ideal".
In Rennes, we did not experience a humiliation like the one against Canet, but we are not doing much better.
"The urgency is to restore a difficult situation", warned Bruno Genesio.
The former OL coach recovers a team that remains on 5 losses, and which has won only once in 2021 (in Brest on January 17, 1-2).
He led his first training session on Saturday, two days before Sampaoli at OM.
And his players had a week of rest since the defeat in Lyon last Wednesday (1-0) because they were already eliminated from the Coupe de France.
Easier to remobilize then?
The environment: OM in revolution, Rennes in continuity
In Brittany, we do things step by step.
Nicolas Holveck was inducted as president of Stade Rennais in March 2020, then Florian Maurice left Lyon in May to become sports director of the Rouge et Noir.
The presence of Maurice is one of the most familiar elements for Bruno Genesio, who had him as head of the recruitment unit during his stay on the OL bench (2015-2019).
According to
Ouest-France
, Genesio brought back in his suitcases only one deputy, Dimitri Farbos.
Sampaoli, he arrives in Marseille with 4 new faces.
He is the coach who must embody after Jacques-Henri Eyraud, president ousted in favor of Pablo Longoria barely 10 days ago.
The American owner, Frank McCourt, had himself traveled to France to extinguish the fire with the supporters.
He announced the withdrawal of the formal notices issued by Eyraud after the incidents at the Commanderie, which led to the postponement of the match against Rennes.
Slowly but surely, OM are healing their wounds and regaining a little calm.
The workforce: OM stronger ... but less stable?
On paper, Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet and Arkadiusz Milik seem to offer more guarantees than the Rennes offensive sector.
In reality, the first, at the end of the contract, is only a shadow of himself and the second can no longer carry his team at arm's length.
In Marseille, Longoria was activated last winter, but Balerdi, Cuisance and Lirola are only on loan for the season.
In addition to Thauvin, we must add Amavi, Nagatomo, Khaoui and Germain to the players whose contracts expire this summer.
Sampaoli must both save the season of an OM who wants to hang the Europa League and build for the future.
But with who ?
We do not ask so many questions in Brittany, of course.
We can not say either that Genesio inherits a bloated workforce.
The level of captain and defender Damien Da Silva is in free fall.
Eduardo Camavinga (18 years old) does not find the form that had propelled him to the French team before he came of age. “I found a concerned group, fighting.
Of course affected, but that's normal, ”explained Genesio at a press conference.
For him, Europe is a “achievable” goal.
By winning at the Vélodrome on Wednesday, Rennes would come back to three points from 5th place, potentially qualifying for the Europa League.
And would then take two points ahead of OM, who are playing just as big at the end of the season.
Read also
Defense three, Dembélé in the axis ... how Koeman relaunched Barça before Paris?