MADRID, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral faces an uncomfortable return to Marseille on Thursday night just five months after resigning as coach of the French club.
Marcelino returned to coaching after a year's sabbatical with Olympique Marseille, but stepped down after just seven matches in charge, stating that he did not have the conditions to do his job properly, due to the poor relations between the club president, Pablo Longoria and a section of the Marseille's most radical supporters.
The coach alleged that Longoria had received threats from a section of the Marseille 'ultras' on September 18th and resigned.
"The events of September 18, do not allow them Marcelino and his technical staffs to work in the conditions in which they were contracted," explained the French club, while once back in Spain, Marcelino explained "the ultras there have huge power, up to the point that they threaten the president."
"They want to influence the way the directors work. That doesn't happen in Spain and it was a surprise," commented the coach.
Marcelino joined Villarreal for his second spell at the club in November, becoming its third coach of the season and has slowly brought about a turnaround in fortunes at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Fate then saw Villarreal drawn to play Olympique Marseille in the Europa League and Marcelino returns to the dugout in the Stade Velodrome on Thursday night in the visitors' dugout, for what is certain to be a hostile reception.
Villarreal travels to France in its best form of the season, with Marcelino slowly transforming the fortunes of a club that had been underperforming. A 3-1 win away to Real Sociedad two weeks ago was followed by a 5-1 thrashing of a hapless Granada last weekend.
The Spanish club now sits in mid-table and although its poor first half to the season looks to have ruled it out for a challenge for the top-six this season, a 13-point cushion over Cadiz in 18th place means it is in no danger of relegation either.
Strikers Alexander Sorloth and Gerard Moreno will be the threat for Villarreal on Thursday in a game where there could be as much attention on the dugout as on the pitch. ■
