Jean-Louis Gasset, former coach of Ivory Coast, becomes the new coach of Olympique de Marseille. He replaces the Italian Gennaro Gattuso, dismissed by his leaders after last Sunday’s defeat on the Brest pitch in Ligue 1 (1-0).
OM, only ninth in Ligue 1 and which is going through a very delicate season, announced on Tuesday the arrival as coach of Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset, who replaces Italian Gennaro Gattuso. “It’s a huge honor for me to join this legendary club that is Olympique de Marseille. I can’t wait to start working with this group to prepare for the next events and give the best of ourselves,” said declared Gasset, 70, quoted in an OM press release.
Olympique de Marseille announces the signing of – as coach ✍️ ⚪️
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) February 20, 2024
A team in crisis
Gasset, former assistant to Laurent Blanc in the French team and at Paris SG, notably managed Montpellier, Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux. He has just left the Ivory Coast selection during the African Cup of Nations. It will be presented at a press conference organized this Tuesday at 4 p.m. He will then make his debut with OM on Thursday against Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of the Europa League play-off.
He will take charge of a team in crisis, which has not won a single league match in 2024 and is in ninth place in the standings, far from qualifying for a European Cup. Apart from its narrow success in the Coupe de France against Thionville (1-0), a 5th level team, Marseille has not won since December 17 and the reception of Clermont.
The separation between Gattuso and OM was announced Monday morning, the day after a sad defeat at Brest (1-0), the Italian having admitted “no longer having any solutions” to relaunch OM, according to a source close to the negotiations.