Lyon (AFP)

Dutchman Peter Bosz has been appointed coach of Lyon where he signed a two-year contract, the Lyon club announced on Saturday, 4th in the last Ligue 1 football.

Aged 57, Bosz succeeds Rudi Garcia (57), at the end of his contract and which has not been extended.

He also did not want to continue at OL, whose first choice was to hire Christophe Galtier.

Faced with the refusal of the champion coach of France with Lille, Olympique Lyonnais therefore turned to Peter Bosz, who nevertheless remains on two failures in Germany after being sacked by Borussia Dortmund in December 2017 and by the Bayer Leverkusen in March 2021, although he took his team to the German Cup final (2020) and to a 4th place in the German championship qualifying for the Champions League (in 2018-2019).

In 34 years of presidency, Jean-Michel Aulas had never yet hired a dismissed coach during the season preceding his recruitment.

Before these two experiences in the Bundesliga, Bosz had a playing career in various Dutch clubs such as Vitesse Arnhem, Waalwijk, Feyenoord Rotterdam, or Breda but also in Japan (United Ichihara) and in Germany (Hansa Rostock).

International eight times, he even wore the colors of SC Toulon (1988-1991), which earned him the ability to speak French.

As a coach, Peter Bosz crossed paths with OL in the spring of 2017 when he was at the head of Ajax Amsterdam, for a single season (2016-2017).

It was in the semi-final of the Europa League (4-1, 1-3) before the ajacide club, qualified at the expense of Lyon, lost in the final of the event against Manchester United (2-0).

He has also managed the Dutch clubs of Graafshap, Heracles Armelo (2004-2006, 2010-2013), Vitesse Arnhem (2013-2015) and Israeli of Maccabi Tel Aviv (2016).

Bosz is the third foreign coach to lead OL's professional team after Serbian Vladimir Kovacevic (November 1981-February 1983) and Brazilian Sylvinho (July-October 2019), two unfortunate experiences.

In Lyon, the Dutch technician will have to revive a bruised team after failing to climb on the podium in Ligue 1 after his home defeat against Nice (3-2) during the 38th and final day of the championship while at the same time Monaco (3rd) was hooked to Lens (0-0).

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OL's objective was to regain the Champions League but the Rhone club will have to be content with playing in the Europa League while seeking to fight, again, for a place on the podium of the French championship in order to regain the C1. .

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