Olympique Marseille sporting director Javier Ribalta discussed the important Italian influence at the club ahead of their derby with Paris Saint-Germain.
Les Olympiens are gearing up for one of the most important matches of their season, the ever-tense Classique clash between them and Ligue 1 giants PSG.
Igor Tudor’s side currently sit five points behind the league leaders heading into the match, setting up an incredibly exciting duel between the top two in France.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ribalta touched on Italy’s influence on Olympique Marseille.
“We speak Italian at Marseille, I and many players have been in Italy for many years. We’re taking with us the culture and the way of life of Italian football.”
A number of familiar faces to Serie A fans play for Marseille, including former Roma goalkeeper Pau Lopez, Atalanta loanee Ruslan Malinovskyi and former Inter forward Alexis Sanchez.
Coach Tudor also rose to prominence in Italy, first as a player for Juventus before coaching Udinese and Hellas Verona. Many Bianconeri fans are keeping a close eye on the 44-year-old’s work in France, believing he could be an interesting option to replace Massimiliano Allegri.