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Marseille coach defends Doria snub

Eric Gaillard / Reuters

Marseille - Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa has angrily defended his decision to overlook Brazilian Doria who has not played since signing for the Ligue 1 side last September.

The 20-year-old captain of Brazil's Olympic football team joined Marseille on a five-year deal worth EUR6 million ($6.9m) in September.

Bielsa has opted for a defensive line-up against Nice on Friday that includes Brice Dja Djedje and Baptiste Aloe alongside Jeremy Morel, with Doria once again overlooked.

"Always the comment about Doria ...," snapped Bielsa when asked about the Brazilian defender at the team press conference ahead of Friday's game.

"It's clear that you understand nothing of the work I'm doing if you think that players play according to the price that we paid for them," said the Argentine coach.

"It's impossible for one (coach) to make choices on those criteria. The only thing which counts when deciding who plays is the coach's criteria and whether he is better or not than the other possibilities."

Bielsa added: "Morel is the best central left back that I have available to me ... (Nicolas) Nkoulou plays left and right in the same way, as does Aloe.

"Doria is a great player, he's perfectly fit to play, but I chose a different player to play."

Marseille are currently second in Ligue 1 just a point behind leaders Lyon.

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