Absent from Marseille’s last two matches, midfielder Nouhoum Kamissoko has received the backing of Bruno Genesio, who puts this reduced playing time down to the return of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and dismisses any idea of a sanction.
Two matches without a single minute. After Toulouse (2-0) and Leverkusen (1-0), Nouhoum Kamissoko did not come off the bench for Olympique de Marseille, having previously played three Ligue 1 games, against Troyes, Angers and Le Havre, as well as a Europa League evening against Sturm Graz, according to OnzeMondial and OneFootball.
The 21-year-old midfielder, a Mali international, is at the heart of these choices. Bruno Genesio, the OM head coach, has explained this reduced playing time and denied any sanction linked to his comments about young players after the 4-3 win at Le Havre.
Højbjerg and Kondogbia ahead of him
The first explanation put forward by the Marseille coach is competition. “Pierre (Pierre-Emile Højbjerg) came back. And then it’s a bit natural for young players to have good spells, then less good ones,” he said, according to La Provence via OneFootball. The return of this key member of the team to the midfield reduces the young Malian’s room for manoeuvre accordingly.
The choice of the starting XI for Leverkusen was a deliberate preference. “At Leverkusen, I wanted to see ‘Kondo’ (Kondogbia) because I felt he could bring technical control to the midfield and his experience in a match like that,” Genesio continued. Geoffrey Kondogbia, the OM midfielder, was therefore preferred to the 21-year-old for the trip to Germany.
No sanction, insists Genesio
There remains the other hypothesis, that of a backlash after his comments about young players following the 4-3 success against Le Havre. The Marseille coach formally denied it, according to OnzeMondial. “But ‘Kami’ is fully involved in the club’s and the team’s project, and he will of course have other chances to show himself,” he said, ruling out any punitive reading.
The message is above all meant to be encouraging. “I am very satisfied with what he did when he played, and with what he shows in training. He still has things to work on but that’s normal,” Genesio added. A vote of confidence paired with a reminder of the work to be done, without any promise of immediate playing time.
A trip to Lens in sight
The calendar offers a next appointment as early as this Sunday, 8 November at 20:45, with a trip to Lens for matchday 10 of Ligue 1, according to OnzeMondial and OneFootball.
Lens have named 21 players for this match, with Yannick Cahuzac on the bench, reports TuFutbolero. For Marseille, the question of Kamissoko’s playing time will remain after this match, in the absence of any announcement of a starting place.