William Saliba on Jorge Sampaoli: “It’s only at the press conference he’s calm. He yells at us in training.”
In an interview with RTL, Marseille’s on loan Arsenal defender William Saliba discussed his stay at Marseille, explaining that friends have described coach Jorge Sampaoli’s touchline antics as “crazy”.
On Jorge Sampaoli: “It’s only at the press conference that he’s calm. He yells at us in training to rally us or when we’re sluggish. Before the match, even in the locker room, he starts to pace back and forth. From the bench, you hear him the whole game. My friends sat behind the bench say to me: ‘yeah, your coach is crazy!’ That’s just how he is, he’s really passionate”.
On the Velodrome atmosphere:“The supporters push you to be better. It’s a great atmosphere, even in the warm-up when you come out, it makes you feel very strong… From the warm up, you’re in the match. After Covid-19, it feels as if fans are coming to the stadium for first time, it’s amazing.”
On fan violence:“We mustn’t wait until there’s a serious injury to change things. We must stop right now, stop everything. I tell myself that [the fans] will understand, they’re not stupid. People come to see a show, it’s a shame that it ends in the second minute.”