Les Phoceens had won eight of their opening 14 games in all competitions, scoring four or more on four separate occasions, and beating serial league winners Paris Saint-Germain for the first time in the league since September 2020.
Marseille's brilliant football under De Zerbi
With Mason Greenwood scoring goals for fun - he remains top of the Ligue 1 charts at present with 13 goals - and Marseille playing some of the best football seen at the Stade Velodrome for years, there was little to suggest that 2025/26 would be anything other than a successful campaign for the club.
However, as has been seen many, many times before, the hand of footballing fate can change things in an instant.
When PSG exacted their revenge in brutal fashion last weekend, taking apart their opponents in a 5-0 win, that proved to be a result that was too much for manager Roberto De Zerbi to take, and he has now parted ways with the club.
Coming so soon after a 3-0 defeat to Club Brugge, which saw Marseille exit the Champions League, it appears that both manager and club came to a 'mutual agreement' that it was time for a change.
Is De Zerbi a loose cannon?
That's despite the team recently beating second-placed Lens 3-1, getting through to the quarter-finals of the French Cup after a 3-0 victory against Rennes (and 9-0 win v Bayeux in the last round), as well as only losing the French Champions Cup to PSG on penalties.
But De Zerbi has form, of course.
When he felt that he no longer had what it took to take Brighton to the next level, he quickly washed his hands of the club and swiftly departed the AMEX Stadium.
There's little doubt, however, that there's something special about him, and whilst at Brighton, Pep Guardiola was just one opposition manager who was effusive in his praise of the Italian.
Admired by Pep Guardiola
“I think I admire him for the fact that it doesn’t matter the team he plays, he proved you don’t have to be in a top, top, top club or with top, top exceptional players to make your team play how you like to play,” he said.
"I enjoy watching his teams play a lot. I learn, which I like, and what he does makes sense. The success his teams have is not a surprise."
It isn't clear if De Zerbi will now take a sabbatical from the game or allow himself to be courted by other clubs, but were the latter situation to come to pass, then Tottenham Hotspur could be very interested observers indeed.
Thomas Frank and his side were booed off once again after their 2-1 loss at home to Newcastle on Tuesday night.
Thomas Frank sacked by Tottenham
The manner of the defeat saw the Dane sacked by Tottenham on Wednesday morning, and, as Flashscore's transfer insider, Dean Jones, noted prior to the decision being made official, the loss was Spurs' 15th of the season, and meant they still hadn't won a league game in 2026.
The North Londoners now find themselves just two places and five points above the bottom three, with Arsenal next up in the league, and Liverpool to play at Anfield within four games.
36 goals scored, and 37 conceded in 25 games isn't the best record for Frank, and set against De Zerbi's 46 goals and 27 conceded in his 21 Ligue 1 games, it looks even worse.
Tottenham fans have always been used to seeing their side play high-octane, attacking football, and that's De Zerbi's signature way of playing.
Is De Zerbi too gung-ho for Tottenham?
Is he gung-ho at times? Perhaps. Though you'd be hard-pressed to find a Lilywhites supporter who wouldn't trade that for the bilge that Frank's XIs have been serving up on a weekly basis.
In the 158 games that De Zerbi oversaw for both Brighton and Marseille in all competitions, his teams scored a whopping 308 goals. 77 of those games were wins, 32 were drawn (just six 0-0's), and 49 were lost.
A win percentage of no lower than 38% at Brighton, and topping out at 58.3% with Marseille last season, certainly makes for decent enough reading.
Perhaps the one question mark is whether there are too many similarities to Ange Postecoglou, in that the Australian had Tottenham playing as well as they had for years in the initial stages of his tenure, before an incredible run of injuries contributed to a complete loss of form.
Injuries remain a concern for the North Londoners
Frank will always point to the same as a mitigating factor, and with 12 players still unavailable for the North Londoners, it's hard not to have some sympathy with the Dane's plight, notwithstanding that the style of football has been well below expectations.
Another reset so soon after the last does no one at the North Londoners any favours whatsoever, and a knee-jerk appointment also isn't the right way to go.
However, managerial talents like De Zerbi don't come around too often, and with the timing so serendipitous, this might finally be the right manager available for Tottenham at the right time.
