Football: after the departure of Gennaro Gattuso, Jean-Louis Gasset expected on the OM bench

Antoine Bienvault / Photo credits: FRANCK FIFE / AFP 8:48 a.m., February 20, 2024

Olympique de Marseille is sinking into crisis. After another defeat against Brest on Sunday, the Marseille club decided to part ways with their coach Gennaro Gattuso. The situation is more than critical in Marseille since the last victory dates back to December 17. To replace Gattuso, a name is circulating insistently, that of Jean-Louis Gasset. At 70, he is a regular in the French championship who has long been in the shadow of another great French coach.

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“He’s proven himself, he’s an old hand”

Jean-Louis Gasset was Laurent Blanc's right-hand man for a long time, in Bordeaux between 2007 and 2010, then in the French team and at Paris Saint-Germain. In 2017, he freed himself from the former world champion and became head coach of Montpellier then Saint-Étienne where he allowed the team to return to the European Cup.

The 70-year-old technician then spent a season on the bench of the Girondins de Bordeaux. He is therefore a regular in Ligue 1 and therefore a very good choice for Olympique de Marseille, according to Bernard Pardo, former OM player. "He has proven himself, he is an old veteran, he has the experience! Jean-Louis went to Montpellier, to clubs where there is a lot of temperament, he is better suited, perhaps, to be the man for the job", he judges at the microphone of Europe 1.

A defensive style of play

A coach also known for his very defensive style of play which however remains on a bad note. In January, the Ivory Coast team sacked him during the African Cup of Nations when the Elephants were on the verge of elimination. A tough but saving decision for the Ivorians who finally won the tournament without Jean-Louis Gasset, now free and expected on the Vélodrome bench.