Football: Jean-Louis Gasset named Olympique de Marseille coach

Jean-Louis Gasset found a coaching position less than a month after being fired by Ivory Coast.

The French veteran was named coach of Olympique de Marseille on Tuesday, replacing Gennaro Gattuso. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The 1993 European champion announced Gasset's appointment a day after parting ways with Gattuso, looking for a new lease of life amid a mediocre season.

Gasset coached Ivory Coast at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations, but he was fired the same day the team qualified for the knockout stage after a poor start to the competition. 

Ivory Coast qualified for the round of 16 only because Morocco beat Zambia, leaving the Elephants among the four best third-placed teams in the six groups. The team then won the tournament under the leadership of his successor Emerse Faé.

Although little known abroad, Gasset has extensive experience in France, having spent years at various clubs including Montpellier, Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux.

“It is a great honour for me to join this legendary club,” said Gasset, 70. “I can’t wait to start working with this group to prepare for the upcoming matches and perform at our best.”

Gattuso was fired Monday after less than five months in charge of the team. He was relieved of his duties after Olympique Marseille's 1-0 defeat against Brest last week in the French championship, a result which dampened the club's hopes of qualifying for European competition next season.

After 22 days, Marseille is ninth in the standings, 23 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain. They have not won any of their five league matches this year.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former French football powerhouse has failed to find any form of stability, with a succession of coaches and crises that have sometimes turned violent. The club has changed coaches 30 times since the turn of the century.

Marseille must recover quickly to stay in the race on the European scene this season. The nine-time French champion club faces Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday at the Stade Vélodrome in the second leg of the Europa League preliminary round. The two teams drew 2-2 in the first leg.

Marseille dominated French football during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are the only French team to have won the Champions League. She has not won the national championship since 2010.