Sources of friction between managers and the players they coach are ever present in pro sports. That’s just the nature of the dynamic. Whether it’s a missed assignment, poor execution of what was demanded or a general clash of personalities, daily irritants in the relationship exist and sometimes they boil over. That’s not unusual in the slightest.
What was unusual about the blow-up between then-Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi and Canada midfielder Ismaël Koné was how public it was. The now-infamous training-ground confrontation in the summer of 2024 between the two men that led to the 23-year-old Montrealer being frozen out of the first team and his eventual move away from the club just happened to occur on a day that cameras were rolling. With filming being done on a documentary of the season, the whole incident was captured.
Now, nearly two years after the fact, Koné doesn’t regret that it happened or that it became public. The only thing that pains him over the episode is any stress it caused his loved ones.
“It didn’t really bother me,” Koné told TSN.ca. “For me, it’s more about my family and my close friends. I saw it and I felt like they were publishing the wrong image of myself. But for me, it didn’t really bother me because I know who I am and I know what type of person I am.
“I know I’m not a bad person. If something ever occurred and I react to something, that’s because – I wouldn’t say I was pushed to it – it’s because the situation really needed me to [react]. I would never disrespect someone for free. That’s out of my character. But yeah, the worst thing was more about my family, the people who saw it and who would be disappointed.”
While the altercation ended his OM career after only nine matches and prompted an immediate loan move to Rennes, Koné is now gone from France altogether. Last summer, he joined Serie B champions Sassuolo in their return to the top flight in Italy on loan. By early February, the deal was turned into a permanent with Koné thriving in Serie A. He finished his first season with six goals in 36 matches across all competitions.
Though the transition might have looked seamless, Koné said work went into adjusting his game from Ligue 1 to Serie A.
“I had to adapt a bit in my game because the referees have been different than in other leagues,” Koné explained. “I would say the fouls whistled there are a little bit more than you’d want in other leagues. Just be careful. Sometimes when I go into a challenge, I just need to be smart or during the game if I can win a foul or bring us up the pitch.”
The pace of the game and its demands are also different, Koné said.
“Ligue 1 is way faster,” he said. “There’s way more space and less man-v-man. You still obviously get a lot of 1v1s, but the team doesn’t press in the man-v-man. In Italy, we press a lot In man-v-man, and we don’t really orientate to one side when in France, it’s something they’ll do. It’s a bit more physical in France and I think players have a better tactical understanding in France.”
Koné and Sassuolo ended up finishing their season 11th in the table, avoiding any kind of relegation fight and the threat of an immediate return to the second tier. Their midtable finish was a testament to the work of manager Fabio Grosso, who is widely rumoured to be on the precipice of joining Fiorentina. A left-back in his playing days, Grosso was famously part of the Azzurri side that claimed the 2006 World Cup with Grosso himself scoring the winning goal in Italy’s epic extra-time 2-0 win over hosts Germany in the semifinals.
Joking that he’s reminded him that he’s won a World Cup, Koné said working under a manager who’s done it all has been beneficial for not only his game, but for the planning for Canada’s upcoming tournament.
“He’ll tell me a bit about how to prepare myself, how to make sure I come into the competition in the best shape I can be,” Koné said of Grosso. “In terms of coaching, he’s been pretty easy – telling me to be myself but giving me some guidelines while letting me to be free. I think what he requires from us players is pretty simple.”
With the club season in the rear-view mirror, Koné is now firmly focused on the World Cup with only Friday night’s friendly against Ireland left between Canada and the tournament. Capped 39 times since his senior debut in 2022, Koné raves about the camaraderie of the group that is still looking for its first-ever World Cup victory.
“This is the best locker room I’ve ever been in,” Koné said. “I feel like one of the older guys on the team now, which is crazy. But as a locker room, it’s super welcoming because I guess we understand people. We understand that you need to be in a good environment to bring the best out of yourself. All of us, we know all the players coming in and we want to give them the best environment so they can just bring their best selves. We want to make this the best team possible.”
To make it the best team possible, manager Jesse Marsch has had to make some tough decisions. Players who were key components of the run to the 2022 World Cup weren’t even invited to the final training camp late last month in Charlotte. Then, six players of the 32 who did travel to North Carolina were told they didn’t make the final squad. Winger Marcelo Flores, who did make the cut, subsequently ruptured his ACL in his club team’s final match before the World Cup and will now miss the tournament, opening up another roster spot.
Koné said this kind of flux is to be expected. While it hurts to see teammates miss out and there’s a strange tension to opportunities opening up because of a friend’s injury, that’s the nature of the beast. All of Canada’s players know what they signed up for.
“It’s football,” Koné said. “You need to be aware of it. But yes, [there are] opportunities because at the end of the day, all of us, we need to bring our best selves to be able to give the best chance to the team. You’re there for your friends, you’re gonna be there for your teammates, you’re gonna be there for your brothers, for sure, but you just have to understand you still have a job to do and need to be ready whenever you’re called upon. So, it’s been pretty easy for us to understand there’s going to be injuries. It’s going to be like that. You just need to be ready and, whatever your role is, you need to impact the team.”
Koné is one of 13 players returning from Qatar where Canada finished at the bottom of Group F behind Morocco, Croatia and Belgium. John Herdman’s team lost all three of their matches and scored just one goal from open play. Still, having not appeared at a World Cup since 1986, it marked a giant achievement for Canada Soccer.
But Koné rejects the suggestion that the journey was the reward. Finishing atop CONCACAF qualifying, ahead of usual confederation leaders Mexico and the United States, Canada was full value for their berth and intended to compete. They weren’t simply happy to be there.
“That would say that all the work we put in, all the running that we did, all the tactical details we applied, all the game plans we had, were for nothing,” Koné said. “If we were just happy to be there, we’d just go there, we’d see Qatar, we’d take a couple of pics, we’d party. But no, we felt like we had a good chance to win the group. Ask anybody when they saw us play the first game against Belgium, we definitely felt like we were the better team. And Belgium, I think they knew it at the time, also. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t get another result after that. So no, I don’t think we were just happy for the ride.”
It was his performance in Qatar that acted as a springboard for Koné’s career. A CF Montreal academy product, Koné’s transfer to Championship side Watford was announced only weeks after the World Cup’s completion. Four seasons and three leagues later, another move for the midfielder could be in the cards.
A stellar first campaign in Italy has opened the eyes of other Serie A clubs and teams from across the continent with the likes of Milan, Roma and Inter said to be admirers of Koné.
Asked if he pays any attention to transfer rumours, Koné is unequivocal.
“No, and thank God for that,” he said. “I don’t go and look for what they say about me. I don’t go out and look for this and that…like I don’t know if it would drive me crazy because I’ve never done it, but it’s just not a thing that I do. I just know that if I’m focused on me and do what I need to do, then those types of results will come. There’s interest rumours because I’m doing my thing and focusing on me. So I just need to keep doing the same thing. If I see something, it’s because my friend will send it to me or one of the guys on the team will send it to me.”
While the only thing on his mind right now is the World Cup, Koné acknowledges at some point this summer there might be time for a conversation about future plans. But not right now.
“Even my agent knows, just let me do my thing,” he said. “Like let me finish my season strong, especially after last year when I didn’t play so much. I really wanted to have a big season. Then from there, we’ll see.
“I feel like from last year, I’ve learned so much about how to be grateful and embrace the fact that I’m able to play professional football. It’s not easy, you sacrifice a lot, but it’s the life I wanted for myself. I’m more than grateful to just be on the pitch, just to be able to train, just to be able to score goals, just to be able to share this moment with teammates, the people who work every day. All this other stuff, if it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, I guess it wasn’t for me.”
