00:00He has followed all of Olympique de Marseille's crises from the inside, and he is still there, but
00:03who is Jacques Pancho Abardonado.
00:05Born on May 27, 1978 in Marseille, everyone will know him by a nickname, Pancho.
00:09This diminutive was given to him by his father, in reference to his grandfather, and he no longer
00:13never left.
00:14Pancho will grow up in La Castellane, the same neighborhood where a certain Zinedine Zidane emerged.
00:18And like many Marseille kids, he first learned to play football in the streets.
00:21before continuing to progress in a training center, and in this case it will be at US
00:24Marseille en Dume.
00:25Very early on, he was seen as a tough defender, a committed defender.
00:28He is someone with a strong character and immense fighting spirit.
00:31And a fun little fact: he's a distant cousin of Pierre Gignac, and he comes from the community of
00:35Travellers.
00:36Abardonado has never hidden this origin; on the contrary, in some interviews, he speaks of it with pride.
00:40His story with Olympique de Marseille began quite early; he joined the club at the age of 20.
00:44years old in 1998,
00:45He will play his first professional match on November 10, 1998.
00:49And little by little, he will establish himself in the heart of Olympique de Marseille's defense.
00:52At its peak, on February 26, 2020, he scored a goal in a classic match won 4-1 by the
00:57'Olympique de Marseille,
00:57But then, little by little, he will leave OM, go to several clubs, like Lorient or Nice by
01:01example,
01:02before quietly ending his playing career.
01:04After this, Pancho will not leave Olympique de Marseille; on the contrary, it is there that his second
01:07Life is about to begin.
01:08Initially, he will become a consultant on OMTV,
01:11In 2013, he returned to Olympique de Marseille, playing for the reserve team in CFA2.
01:15and in parallel with that, he will begin his coaching training.
01:17This is where his coaching career will truly begin.
01:19He will first become assistant coach of the reserve team, then head coach.
01:22Then afterwards, he will move to the training center, work with the young players, and become the assistant coach.
01:26U19s
01:27And if Pancho does all this, it's because he's in love with Olympique de Marseille.
01:30And that he just wants to do his beloved club a favor.
01:32And from 2021 onwards, his role will definitively change, since upon the arrival of Georges Sampaoli,
01:37Well, Pancho will join the first team, become a translator, liaison, assistant coach, in short, a little bit of everything.
01:42will become a trusted man who will relay Sampaoli's message.
01:45because Jacques Abardonado is French-Spanish.
01:47He speaks French very well, he speaks Spanish very well.
01:49Sampaoli is Argentinian, he speaks Spanish, so naturally, it's going to be pretty good.
01:52A few months later, after the Argentinian's departure, Marcelino would arrive in Marseille.
01:56Here again, he will be the link between Marcelino and the professional squad.
01:59and on September 20, 2023, after Marcelino's departure from OM, because the supporters had...
02:03even demanded,
02:03Pancho becomes interim coach of OM.
02:05He was the one who led the Europa League match against Ajax, which ended in a 3-3 draw.
02:09and will not be able to prevent a heavy 4-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes
02:12Princes.
02:12He will then be replaced by Gattuso.
02:14He may not necessarily have time to have an interim manager between Gattuso and Jean-Louis Gasset.
02:17or even between Jean-Louis Gasset and Roberto de Zarbi.
02:19But in February 2026, it will be Pancho who will referee the match against Strasbourg.
02:22Because, once again, we trust him.
02:24And while OM has just officially announced the arrival of Abid Bey,
02:27And so the latter decided to keep it in the style of the first team.
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