Anigo's adventure just beginning

By Simon Hart in Gothenburg

José Anigo is hoping Olympique de Marseille's progress to the UEFA Cup final will mark the start of a "glorious future" for the French club.

Bright future
Speaking in Gothenburg, the man who replaced Alain Perrin as Marseille coach in January said that, whatever the outcome against Valencia CF at the Ullevi stadium tomorrow, good times beckoned at the Stade Vélodrome. Anigo, 43, said: "I've been first-team coach for five months. A lot of coaches would dream of a start like mine, but on the contrary this is the start of an adventure for me. I want to build a team like at [FC] Porto or elsewhere, to bring some strong individuals in to strengthen the team but not to shake things up."

'Glorious future'
Anigo, who played for Marseille for eight years from 1979-87, added: "We're a club with a great past and we want to build an equally glorious future. We can't be satisfied with playing for sixth or seventh place, we're not a little club, we're a big club and the players and I must accept that.

Pedretti capture
"We now have 14 good players and we want to keep them and to add four or five to complete this team." One new signing is already confirmed - as Marseille were arriving in Sweden yesterday, news was breaking back in France of their €4.5m acquisition of France midfield player Benoît Pedretti from FC Sochaux Montbéliard.

Hometown club
That Anigo was talking excitedly of the future is no surprise - he played with passion and operates the same way now he is coach of his hometown club. And these aspirations underline the change in mood at Marseille since his promotion from youth-team coach.

Team spirit
Players like Camel Meriem, Laurent Batlles and Demetrius Ferreira have come in and made their mark and Anigo has got the best out of others who were already at the club - men like Senegalese midfield player Sylvain N'Diaye, youngster Mathieu Flamini and Brahim Hemdani, his captain. Little wonder Anigo deflected a journalist's question about Didier Drogba's hip problem by stressing the importance of "le collectif".

Barthez happy
Fabien Barthez, who returned to Marseille from Manchester United FC in the winter break, has described the mood in the dressing room as being like a "promotion d'honneur club" - or an amateur team. He was not being derogatory, but rather referring to the enthusiasm presently gripping the place.

More experience
Barthez will take the field tomorrow as the only Marseille player to have won a European trophy before, the 1993 UEFA Champions League during his first spell there. But his team-mates - eliminated from the Champions League in the autumn - have grown in experience as they have advanced in the UEFA Cup.

Strong links
"The UEFA Cup run has taught us a lot," Anigo said. "Tactically but also from a human perspective. The players have built stronger links between one another." He too is learning. He admits the season has brought "highs and lows" - including four defeats in their last five league matches - but the priority in that time has been the UEFA Cup.

Proud memories
Victory tomorrow would take the trophy to France for the first time but this is not the main motivation. "We all want to win something for the club," said Anigo, who recalled the reaction to their Champions League triumph eleven seasons ago. "I remember what was happening in Marseille in 1993 - the place was turned on its head. Just by looking at this trophy I've got goosebumps and I'd love for Brahim to be lifting it at the end of the game."