French giants Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain both announced managerial changes on Tuesday, adding further spice to one of the most intriguing seasons in recent French soccer history.
Marseille, who lead Ligue 1 on goal difference from Bordeaux, were first off the mark when they announced that French World Cup hero Didier Deschamps would take over from Eric Gerets.
The Belgian has guided the southern giants to within striking distance of their first league crown since 1992, but he announced last week that he would leave, citing a lack of support from club owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus.
PHOTO: AFP
Hours later, bitter rivals PSG followed suit by confirming that Paul Le Guen’s contract would not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season.
Sport daily L’Equipe reported earlier on Tuesday that Le Guen’s exit had been hastened after he clashed with PSG chairman Sebastien Bazin over control of the transfer policy at the club.
Both Gerets and Le Guen had been expected to seek pastures new at the end of the campaign, but the news of their departures arrives at a pivotal time in the season for their success-starved clubs.
PHOTO: AFP
With four games remaining, leaders Marseille, who won their last league title in 1992, are one goal ahead of Bordeaux, while PSG are a point behind Lyon in fourth place in the race for Champions League qualification.
Lyon coach Claude Puel, meanwhile, could pay the price for the seven-time champions’ poor season with his own job in the summer.
Deschamps, 40, remains France’s most decorated player, having led Marseille to the 1993 Champions League title — their last major honor — before skippering his country to the 1998 World Cup on home soil and the European Championship two years later.
His first foray into coaching saw him guide Monaco to a shock appearance in the 2004 Champions League final and he then led Italian heavyweights Juventus to promotion from Serie B following their demotion for match-fixing.
He will take over from Gerets in June on a two-year contract.
“The choice of Didier Deschamps, whose career both as a player and a coach prove his merits, was a natural one to make,” a statement from Marseille said. “The priority remains to do everything possible to try to win the championship. In this respect, the club knows it can trust Eric Gerets, an accomplished professional, whose determination and skill will be decisive in the title race.”
Le Guen began his coaching career at Rennes, but established his reputation in a three-year stint at Lyon during which he led the side to three league titles.
After a disastrous eight-month spell in charge of Scottish giants Rangers, he returned to PSG in January 2007, narrowly sparing the team from relegation in his first two seasons and securing the League Cup last year.
“Paris Saint-Germain announce their decision not to renew, after almost three years of collaboration, the contract of their coach Paul Le Guen that expires on June 30 2009,” a statement on the PSG Web site said. “The name of his successor will be announced in the coming weeks and Paul Le Guen will continue with his full duties until the end of his contract.”
Valenciennes coach Antoine Kombouare has been tipped to replace Le Guen, who can console himself with the thought that he won’t be the only big-name on the managerial merry-go-round this summer.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS