Himad Abdelli, symbol of the failure of OM?

Almost three months ago, Himad Abdelli arrived in Marseille like a child who is achieving his dream. Growing up in the wake of the great hours of the Vélodrome, the Algerian midfielder had chosen OM without hesitation against the proposals of OL and the clubs of the Gulf. A choice of the heart, asserted, assumed. The transfer formalized on February 2, 2026 for 2.5 million euros seemed to mark the beginning of a beautiful story.

An unrecognizable player
Three months later, reality crushed everything. Abdelli played only 178 minutes in the OM jersey (less than two matches if we add up these minutes). Zero goals, zero assists, two yellow cards. The manager of Angers, who had scored 20 goals and weighed on 119 games with the SCO, has become a ghost in Marseille in a rotation that he cannot integrate.

On Sunday, April 26, 2026, during the 31st day of Ligue 1, OM hosts Nice with the Champions League in sight. In the 66th minute, Højbjerg opens the scoring, and the Vélodrome believes it. Then Abdelli comes into play instead of Timber. A few minutes later, a loss in a dangerous area, a foul from Mmadi on Clauss, a penalty. Wahi transforms at the 88th. 1-1. Two points lost, the Champions League moves further away.

After the final whistle, Habib Beye goes up to the press conference. He doesn’t need to name Abdelli so that everyone understands who he is addressing.

 «We can always claim, but when you enter a match like this one, you have to get back to the level of the match. We have to acknowledge the importance of the match. And that wasn’t our case in the end." 

Behind the scenes, according to RMC Sport, the message is directly aimed at Abdelli. It’s not a trivial task. It is the public confirmation of a breach of trust between a coach and his recruit, at a time when OM is playing their season.

Moreover, a terrible statistic sticks to Abdelli’s tail: OM never won when he stayed more than 10 minutes on the pitch. Worse, Marseille conceded 9 goals. Moreover, Marseille have won only twice with Abdelli: against Metz (he played 1 minute) and in front of Lyon (6 minutes).

Two men, the same shipwreck
What makes Abdelli’s situation so symptomatic is that he is an exact mirror of his coach’s. Habib Beye arrived in Marseille on 19 February, less than ten days after his ouster from Rennes, welcomed as a saviour. Two and a half months later, the picture is alarming.

An undisputed executive in Angers, Abdelli finds himself on the sidelines at OM. 178 minutes played, zero offensive contribution, penalty foul that costs two points against Nice. His place at the 2026 World Cup with Algeria is now in danger.

For Habib Beye, the results are very similar: only 13 points out of 27 in 9 matches in Ligue 1, the worst debut by a coach who arrived at OM during the season since Franck Passi in 2016. Marseille is 6th, overtaken by... Rennes, their former club.

The paradox is cruel: Beye left Rennes when the club was 6th with 31 points. Marseille, at the same time, had 40 and seemed calm. Today, Rennes is 5th with 56 points, while OM is 6th with 53. Breton progress, on the one hand, and Marseille’s stagnation on the other. Without Beye, Rennes started to play. With Beye, Marseille began to doubt.

A changing room under tension
Tensions are not limited to the green rectangle. According to La Provence, a large part of the Marseille locker room has developed a deep distrust towards its coach, his group management methods fueling internal misunderstandings and frustrations. Himad Abdelli is in the lot, he who has only made a start in Ligue 1 against Lorient, and only one in the Coupe de France (out at half-time of the quarter-final against Toulouse).

Even between players, the atmosphere is electric. In an interview with Ligue 1+, the defender Facundo Medina told with disconcerting frankness about a physical clash at training with Abdelli: after a small humiliating bridge, the Argentinian went to hit him voluntarily against the barriers. Abdelli got angry. Médina did not back down. Anecdotal in normal times. Revealing in the current context of a club playing its European qualification with three days to go.

Himad Abdelli wanted to take a step forward. Habib Beye wanted to turn a Rennes failure into a Marseille success. Three months after their respective arrivals, the two men share the same record: an ambition intact on paper, a much darker reality on the ground. At OM, passion can both sublimate and devour... For both, the second option is looming, for now...