2023-09-27 19:26:38
Gennaro Gattuso, then coach of Valencia CF, during the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid, at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, January 11, 2023. GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP
Olympique de Marseille (OM) did not take long to react. A week after the hasty departure of Spanish coach Marcelino, the Marseille club announced, Wednesday September 27, that they had reached an agreement with Gennaro Gattuso. The Italian was quickly thrown into the deep end, as he led his first training session at the Commanderie in the evening.
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Gattuso’s mission will be to re-mobilize as quickly as possible the Marseillais – currently eighth in Ligue 1 -, soundly beaten on Sunday by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Parc des Princes (0-4). The 45-year-old coach will have a real test on Saturday, when he faces AS Monaco at the Louis-II stadium, currently fourth in the French championship. After rumors suggesting a return of Igor Tudor – Marseille coach during the 2022-2023 season – or an arrival of the former PSG coach, Christophe Galtier, the president of OM, Pablo Longoria, has finally set his sights on the former Azzurri international.
Gennaro Gattuso, often described as very “sanguine”, has the profile to match the expectations of the manager, still marked by the stormy meeting of September 18 between the club’s board of directors and the supporters. The Calabrian is used to passionate contexts, having coached SSC Naples, so the fervor aroused by OM in the city should hardly disrupt his work.
Only one title obtained with Napoli as coach
The former AC Milan midfielder has not had great success since his debut on the benches of Sion, in Switzerland, in 2013. His experiences at AC Milan (November 2017-May 2019) or Napoli (December 2019-May 2021) remained mixed. It was still in the Campania region, in 2020, that he obtained the only title of his career as a coach, in the Italian Cup (victory in the final against Juventus, 0-0, 4-2 tab).
His last adventure dates back to January 2023, in Valencia (Spain), where the Italian technician had terminated his contract by mutual agreement with the Spanish club, after only six months spent at the reins of the team. Approached at Olympique Lyonnais a few weeks ago to take over from Laurent Blanc, Gattuso saw the position stolen by his compatriot Fabio Grosso. This time, he will set down his suitcases in France: in Marseille.
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