After a difficult first season at OM, Karim Ziani has finally found his marks as shown by his performance against Bergen. The Algerian is now one of the most consistent performers at the club and the Marseille public is really starting to appreciate the player.
« Last season was very very difficult so I said to myself : Give evrything you have and things will turn around ». Put into the starting line-up on three occasions since the start of the season by Erik Gerets, Karim Ziani has proven that he has gotten over the past. Against Auxerre and Le Havre in League 1, then against Brann Bergen in the European cup, the supporters have been able to see the real Karim Ziani. Speed, dribbles, blistering runs and outstanding technique. Karim Ziani has shown his true qualities since the start of August. « It did me a lot of good to go back home this summer and play with the National team. It gave me confidence in myself », he explains.
However, all through the summer the Press spoke anout an eventual depart. « But I never said that I wanted to leave. I’ve always wanted to stay at the club », he assures us.
« I spoke with Erik Gerets, so that everything was clear. He told me that he was counting on me, and he has shown it. Now I have to repay his confidence », admits the former Sochaux player.
Injured in the friendly match against Nantes in July, after quality 30 minutes, Karim Ziani thought that last season’s demons had caught up with him again. But the attacking midfielder managed to get back into action very quickly. Unbelievable. To such a point that Erik Gerets thought about putting him into the starting line-up against Rennes for the first game of the League campaign : « Karim is giving me a tough time, but in a positive way », the coach said at the time.
Since then, OM have put in a run of good performances. Two victories and a draw in the League and a qualification for the UEFA Champion’s League. The start of the season has been positive for the club and the player. « Everything is going well. Obviously not including the tragedy that has struck the clubs supporters ». Karim was greatly affected by last Saturdays dramatic incident. « What happened to Djamel (president of the supporters group Marseille Trop Puissant, seriously injured in the accident) really hit me hard. He was the first person to welcome me when I arrived in Marseille.I thought about that a lot, especially when I was told that he was hovering between life and death », he explains, visibly emotional.
On Saturday at the Vélodrome against Sochaux, nobody will be in any doubt that Ziani and his teammates will once again be thinking of the leader of the MTP.
