Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi is trying to convince new signing Amine Gouiri that he can become one of the best strikers in Europe.
Gouiri scored two outstanding goals and played a part in the other three when Marseille routed Saint-Etienne 5-1 in Ligue 1 last Saturday. Gouiri also has three assists in the three games he’s played since joining from Rennes for 22 million euros ($23 million) in the January transfer window.
“He is not entirely aware of his strengths, the qualities he has. I try to give him this self-belief,” De Zerbi said Friday ahead of Marseille's Ligue 1 game at Auxerre on Saturday. "He reminds me of the great No. 9s, like Gonzalo Higuain, in terms of his movement, of making the team play. Amine has everything to be one of the best European center forwards, he just has to believe in it.”
The 24-year-old Gouiri, who now plays for Algeria, was considered one of the biggest prospects in French soccer when he was the tournament's top scorer with France at the European Under-17 Championship in 2017. One year later he suffered a serious knee injury playing for Lyon.
After leaving Lyon for Nice, he joined Rennes in the summer of 2022 for 28 million euros ($29.3 million), scoring a career-high 15 league goals that season.
He’s comfortable in a central striker’s role but can also ghost in from wide left or probe from deep, making his runs very difficult for defenders to read. Gouiri’s silky play also makes him easy to combine with on rapid attacks.
Maybe that's also the problem.
De Zerbi thinks Gouri's wide repertoire and natural versatility could be working against him, and that he now needs to fine-tune his game to become a pure finisher.
“He has the qualities of a No. 10 (playmaker),” De Zerbi said. “But in front of goal he must have the efficiency of a nine, he must always position himself well in relation to the goal.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Rennes' Amine Gouiri celebrates his side's second goal during an Europa League group F match between Maccabi Haifa and Rennes in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)
WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away.
Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn course in a super-G Friday — four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.
The 24-year-old Franzoni — a former world junior champion in super-G, downhill and Alpine combined — was the first racer on course and took advantage of the No. 1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run.
Reaching a top speed of 140.44 kph (87 mph), Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.
Franzoni handled the tricky Canadian Corner and Kernen S sections on the upper portion of the course cleaner than anyone else.
“I made the difference on the turn where I crashed a few years ago,” he said, referring to his season-ending fall in a super-G in 2023 that resulted in thigh surgery.
Swiss overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, a four-time winner in Wengen, placed fourth, 0.53 behind.
The top American was Ryan Cochran-Siegle in sixth.
Franzoni also led both downhill training sessions and could be a contender in the classic downhill on Saturday. His previous best World Cup finish was third in a super-G on home snow in Val Gardena last month.
Now Franzoni will be among the leaders for Italy’s team in Bormio, where men’s Alpine skiing will be contested during the Olympics.
“If you had told me that I would be third in Val Gardena and then win here — on the two courses that I've had the most trouble on — I wouldn't have believed it,” Franzoni said.
The opening ceremony for the Games is scheduled for Feb. 6.
“I don't know about the future, but the present has changed," Franzoni said. "We always live day by day.”
Marco Schwarz, the Austrian who won the previous super-G in Livigno, Italy, last month, missed the race due to sickness.
Also sitting out this weekend is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian standout who returned this season after a horrific crash in Wengen two years ago.
“This year," Kilde said on Instagram this week, "it’s just a little too early.”
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Giovanni Franzoni of Italy takes a jump during the alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Austria's Stefan Babinsky speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Italy's Giovanni Franzoni reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
