Balerdi: 'Marseille deserve a title after so many years of waiting'
Flashscore: The 2-1 win over Lens wasn't easy, but it came at the best possible time for Marseille. Right?
Leonardo Balerdi: "The match against Lens helped us because it was against a system similar to Atalanta, with a lot of one-on-ones and a lot of high pressure. It was a good test for Thursday and for what lies ahead.
"We had to win in the league because every time Lens come to us, it's with ambitions. It wasn't our best game but it was important to win it and take advantage of our opportunities to do so, especially as it gives us a boost for the rest of the Ligue 1 season."
This is Marseille's second European semi-final in three seasons. Two years ago, the elimination by Feyenoord in the Europa League was more of a disappointment than a failure, but we imagine that it will serve you well against Atalanta, especially as new experienced players have arrived.
"On an individual level, I'm at my best now and I want to take advantage of that to do everything I can to win the competition. In fact, we have players with a wealth of experience who will give us new tools to achieve that.
"Coming back to the semi-final against Feyenoord, I still have a lump in my throat because I wasn't able to play it, I had a shoulder injury, I had to have an operation and I watched it from Argentina. This time, I'll be on the pitch and I'm going to do everything I can to help my team qualify for the final."
Marseille have had a very long season, with three successive coaches. The dressing room needed a man like Jean-Louis Gasset, who needed to regain his confidence as much as you did...
"We needed some peace of mind after all the changes, all the things that happened that we couldn't even imagine at the start. We never thought we'd have to change coaches three times. But that's what happened.
"To be honest, I had a good relationship with Marcelino and Gennaro Gattuso and I enjoyed working with them.
"But as for Jean-Louis Gasset, I think he gave us the peace we needed at the right time. He was the man we needed to finish the season in the best possible way. In any case, we intend to finish the season in the best possible way.
"As well as the Europa League, we also have 3 league games left to reach the European places, and we want to achieve that."
For this semi-final first leg, what message are you sending to the people of Marseille who will be at the Velodrome and elsewhere?
"I'd like them to have faith in us, to believe in us, because we're going to do everything we can to achieve that goal, because we're all desperate to win this cup, for all of us because we deserve it as a team and also because the whole of Marseille deserves a title after so many years of waiting.
"We know what it means. First of all, we're focusing on this semi-final to qualify, but it's obvious that we're all dreaming of winning this title with this shirt on, me first and foremost."
