Marseille are a club defined by their capacity for theatre, and for much of Roberto De Zerbi's tenure at the Vélodrome that quality was on vivid, if occasionally chaotic, display. The Italian's departure in early 2026 prompted a wave of supporter discontent and triggered significant change in the club's boardroom. Into that turbulence stepped Habib Beye, appointed manager in February with a mandate, it seemed, to restore order.
As the Guardian reports, Beye's appointment was framed partly by his personal connection to the club. At his unveiling, he invoked the memory of the late former Marseille president Pape Diouf, recalling advice Diouf had once offered him: that when the fire burns at Marseille, sometimes the wisest course is simply to let it exhaust itself. It was a considered, even sentimental, opening. The difficulty, the Guardian argues, is that Beye has taken that counsel too literally — and in doing so has allowed the creative heat in the squad to dissipate entirely.
Under De Zerbi, Marseille were far from a settled proposition. Defensive frailty was a persistent problem; the goals they conceded were a source of frustration for supporters and management alike. But the attack carried genuine menace, and the Italian had a clear method for deploying the technical players at his disposal. The side could hurt opponents, and often did. Whatever the broader instability of that period, there was an identifiable footballing idea at work.
Beye's approach has moved sharply away from that. According to the Guardian's account, the shift in style has not addressed the weaknesses De Zerbi left behind so much as suppressed the strengths that existed alongside them. The squad he inherited was built for forward expression; the structure now placed around it sits uneasily with those qualities. The result is a side that has lost the spark without yet acquiring the solidity that might justify the trade.
The broader question for Marseille's hierarchy is whether Beye will be given the time and latitude to reshape the squad in his own image, or whether results will force a reconsideration. Ligue 1 offers no simple shelter: Paris Saint-Germain's dominance has long compressed the margin for error among those competing for European places, and a Marseille side lacking cohesion at both ends of the pitch is poorly placed to apply pressure. Beye may yet find the balance he is searching for, but for now the evidence suggests the cure is proving harder to manage than the condition it was meant to treat.