This week, Olympique de Marseille left its training centre in La Commanderie for a special internship around the Italian capital. This retreat, or “ritiro”, generated reactions among French football players, notably from Antoine Kombouaré, FC Nantes coach. For him, this type of practice is common and can be beneficial to regrouping a group if its duration is well controlled.

When asked about the ritiro put in place by Roberto De Zerbi, Antoine Kombouaré did not seem surprised. “De Zerbi does not teach me anything,” he said, adding that these are things that can be done in certain situations. While the Kanak technician validates the idea of a collective break to strengthen the ties within the group, he raised a question about the duration of this retirement: “What questions is the duration: will it be a month? I don’t know.”

A measured but meaningful exit, which reminds us that an intensive internship can be useful in this kind of situation. Kombouaré does not exclude doing the same with his team: “We, too, can be forced to do it.”