AJAX – OM. In a complicated context without a coach, Olympique de Marseille launches its European season in the Europa League with a perilous trip to Amsterdam to face Ajax. Time, TV broadcast… Discover all the information on this poster.
By carrying out an XXL transfer window this summer with the arrivals of Aubameyang, Ndiaye, Kondogbia or Renan Lodi, Olympique de Marseille surely did not imagine making a trip to Amsterdam without a coach and with management leaving in the middle of september. This Thursday evening, the Olympians face Ajax Amsterdam on the first day of the Europa League. While OM are second in Ligue 1 while being undefeated and two points behind leader Monaco, a meeting Monday evening with the leaders of different supporter groups caused chaos in the Marseille city. Marcelino and his staff have left and Jorge Sampaoli’s former deputy, Pancho Abardonado finds himself a “firefighter on duty”. At a press conference, the interim coach and former defender of the club was keen to support his players while returning to the ousting of the Spanish technician: “I learned of it very late yesterday evening through David Friio (his assistant ) by phone. It’s a pride for me to represent OM. I’m going to lead the group for the first time, but I think the players are ready. They know the importance of this match. They know what’s in store for them. wait, they know the context of the club before signing. We know that it can happen, in Marseille as in other clubs. The players must respond. I knew everything at the club, all that was missing was the pros . I’m taking it with great pleasure and I’m going to continue to learn because I’m a young coach. It’s a source of pride, obviously. It was one of my goals, even if it happens sooner than expected.”
On the Ajax side, the situation is no better than at OM: 5 points in four Eredivisie matches. While the Dutch club lost many executives or key players this summer like Dusan Tadic, Davy Klaassen, Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez (West Ham) and Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), Ajax bet on the Georgian international and former FC Metz striker Georges Mikautadze. But another affair splashes the “Lancers”: a questionable transfer affair agitates the management of the club after the arrival for eight million euros of Borna Sosa, Croatian international through an agents’ office. Except that this same office is a minority shareholder in Matchmetrics GmbH, a football data company co-founded by Sven Mislintat (the club’s new sporting director) in 2016, in which he owns 35% of the shares. There is therefore suspicion of conflicts of interest. While the club decided to open an internal investigation, first team coach Maurice Steijn decided to remain vague on this matter at a press conference: “I understand your questions, but it has nothing to do with with the match against Marseille. The only thing I think about the sporting director is that it doesn’t help us sportingly, in our preparation. He is a shareholder in a company. The most important thing is that the players be ready for Thursday. This whole thing makes us uncomfortable. It’s up to us to stay calm.”
The Europa League first day match between Ajax and Marseille is scheduled to kick off on Thursday September 21 at 9:00 p.m. at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The Italian Maurizio Mariani will be the referee of the match.
Holder of the TV rights to the Europa League, Canal will broadcast the clash between Ajax and OM. The poster will also be available unencrypted on W9.
If you want to watch the Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Olympique Marseille on your computer, smartphone or tablet, you will need to take out a subscription on MyCanal or create an account on 6play.
Ajax : Gorter (G) – Gaaei, Sutalo, Hato, Sosa – Van Den Boomen, Taylor, Borges – Mikautadze, Bergwijn, Brobbey.
OM: Lopez (G) – Clauss, Mbemba, Gigot, R.Lodi – Rongier, Kondogbia, Veretout – Ndiaye, Vitinha, Aubameyang.
