PARIS-. Gennaro Gattuso He was fired on Monday as coach of the Olympique de Marseillea person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday.
Gattuso’s dismissal came a day after Marseille lost 1-0 to 10-man Brest in the French league. The result compromised the club’s chances of qualifying for the European Cups next season.
Marseille and Gattuso have started the legal process to terminate the contract and the club is looking for a replacement, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Italian coach’s departure has not yet been announced by the team.
After 22 rounds, Marseille is in ninth place, 23 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.
Since American owner Frank McCourt acquired Marseille in 2016, instability has been the path of the once great French soccer team, with constant changes of coaches and crises that in some cases have led to violence.
Marseille needs to raise its head soon so as not to get off the European train this season.
The nine-time French champions will host Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday at the Stade Vélodrome in the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie. They tied 2-2 in the first leg.
Gattuso, a former AC Milan midfielder and world champion with Italy, was hired in September. He replaced Spanish coach Marcelino García Toral, who resigned after a handful of games amid a dispute between club officials and fans.
Marseille was the dominant team in French football in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is the only club in France to have won the Champions League, dating back to 1993. But it has not won the domestic tournament since 2010. , while PSG has been crowned again in the last 11 years to take over the French record with 11 titles.
Previously, Gattuso coached Milan, Napoli and most recently Valencia in Spain.
Source: AP
