Olympique Marseille: Gattuso released – first Gasset, then Galtier?

Is Galtier coming in summer?

This article was published on February 19 at 2:21 p.m. and updated following official confirmation of the coaching change.

Olympique Marseille announced the end of its collaboration with Gennaro Gattuso on Tuesday afternoon. “Olympique Marseille would like to particularly thank Gennaro and all his employees for the tireless investment and the great professionalism they have shown every day and wishes them good luck for the future,” the club said in a brief statement. Jean-Louis Gasset was officially presented as his successor in the afternoon. The club did not announce how long the new trainer would be retained. According to media reports, they are considering signing Christophe Galtier soon.

The background to the new coaching change, after Gattuso only took over from the Spaniard Marcelino in September, is the ambitious traditional club’s continued mediocre performance this season. In Ligue 1, OM is in a disappointing ninth place with 30 points after 22 games and is six points behind the European Cup places despite transfer expenses of 102.6 million euros (from 72.4 million in income). It is said that the decision was made after the weak 0-1 defeat at the surprise runner-up Stade Brest 29 on Sunday. Marseille had previously drawn 2-2 at Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg in the first leg of the Europa League.

Galtier, who was traded last summer, was considered the ideal solution for Gattuso’s long-term successor. The former PSG coach was not hired at the time because the 57-year-old was confronted with accusations of racism from his time at OGC Nice, where he is said to have discriminated against Muslims and black players. Galtier was acquitted of the charges in court in December. In mid-October he signed for Al-Duhail SC in Qatar.

If Gasset only takes over the helm for the rest of the season, Galtier could continue to be an issue at OM next season. The newspaper “L’Équipe”, for example, was based on this plan. The 70-year-old Gasset was only released a few weeks ago after the weak Africa Cup group phase with eventual tournament winners Ivory Coast.

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