Paris (AFP)

Jorge Sampaoli, firefighter of an Olympique de Marseille in full fire?

The Argentine coach, in "advanced discussions" with OM, according to his entourage, is gradually approaching La Canebière after having recorded Monday evening his departure from the Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro.

Interim Nasser Larguet, still on the bench Saturday in Ligue 1 for a sad draw in Nantes (1-1), knows that his days at the helm of the professional workforce are numbered.

Presented by many media as the N.1 target of sports director Pablo Longoria since the dismissal of the Portuguese André Villas-Boas in early February, Sampaoli is approaching with great strides a return to Europe, three and a half years after his departure from the Sevilla FC, his only professional experience on the Old Continent so far ...

With the OM, "the discussions are advanced but it is not at all concluded. Details are still missing but I think it will be done," a source close to the technician's entourage told AFP. , Tuesday.

The road therefore seems very clear for this apostle of the offensive game, ex-coach of Argentina and Chile: after a last match of the Brazilian Championship on the night of Thursday to Friday against Palmeiras (01:30 Friday Paris time), she must take him to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, where a contract running until 2023 awaits him, according to several media which mention a visit to Marseille at the weekend.

- Atlético Mineiro, it's over -

The departure of Atlético Mineiro is already official.

"The end has come. Thursday will be the last game," Sampaoli, who was linked with the Brazilian club until the end of the year, wrote on Monday in a letter to supporters.

The end of the Brazilian adventure of the 60-year-old technician, who will have spent less than a year on the club bench, was, in the process, confirmed by Atlético Mineiro, citing the "important role" played by "Sampa" in "the development of Atlético thanks to his discipline, his spirit and his enormous capacity for work".

Sampaoli took the reins of Atlético Mineiro in March 2020 and won 25 of the 44 games played at his head (10 defeats, 9 draws).

In Brazil, he once again flaunted his restless, sometimes even angry, temperament.

Latest release?

His match on Sunday against Recife (3-2), where he received a red card for verbally attacking a referee: the Argentinian was so mad with rage that he moved to middle of the pitch to express his anger ... An excess that will deprive him of the sidelines Thursday for his last game.

- "He lives his passion" -

Will this character bring an OM in crisis back to success?

This is the hope that probably nourishes the management of the club, in open conflict with its supporters.

"He is 100% all the time, but the players appreciate him because outside he is much more rested, he is very endearing from a human point of view. He lives his passion. That, it will appeal to the Marseillais ", declared at the microphone of RMC Sport the international defender Adil Rami, who knew him in Seville.

But the site is immense, while OM welcomes Sunday Lyon in a match of the Olympics always very tense.

Sportingly, the Marseille club is skating in 7th place in Ligue 1, 14 points from the top 4, one game behind.

And outside the lawns, OM faces a huge sling from their supporters, who recently asked, in unison, for the resignation of President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, against the backdrop of incessant rumors about a possible sale of the club, always strongly denied by owner Frank McCourt.

The crisis peaked in late January and early February with the intrusion of dozens of supporters into the club's training center, serious incidents having caused the postponement of a match against Rennes.

And two days later, coach André Villas-Boas announced his resignation in a lunar press conference, saying he disagreed with sports policy, before being fired by his management a few hours later.

For Sampaoli, the stage is set ...

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