(Football news) Jorge Sampaoli has left Marseille’s head coach position after Olympique Marseille mutually parted ways with him. The French side confirmed his exit shortly after the 62-year-old led Marseille back to the Champions League with a second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season. The Argentine only took charge of Marseille in February 2021 and signed a deal until June 2023. Marseille finished fifth in his first season in charge of the 2020-21 season . Sampaoli took over from Andre Villas-Boas, who also left the club in controversial fashion. Villas-Boas offered his resignation in February 2021 and was then suspended by Marseille, before finally leaving the club on a sour note. Sampaoli leaves Marseille with a win percentage of 53%..He has enjoyed a successful managerial career across Europe and South America when he took charge of the Argentina and Chile national teams, as well as Sevilla at club level.
Igor Tudor is set to replace Sampaoli after he reached an agreement with Marseille club president Pablo Longoria on a two-year contract which will see him take over the head coach position. The Croatian, who subsequently left Hellas Verona after a season in charge in May, is expected to land in Marseille today and take charge of his first training session tomorrow afternoon. The former Juventus assistant manager quickly emerged as the favourite to replace Sampaoli, with the former Argentina and Chile manager reportedly left the club over a lack of ambition in the transfer market ahead of their Champions League campaign.
It still remains unclear to see when Tudor will be officially announced as manager of Marsellie and be introduced to the press. He will not have the entirety of his coaching staff with him straight away, since Marseille still need to iron out the final details of his contract. According to reports Igor Tudor is set to arrive with four members of staff, and a potential fifth to bridge the language gap for now. The former Croatian international will also have meetings with the Marseille management in order to plan out their upcoming transfer business as they haven’t signed a single player in the ongoing transfer market.
Marseille said in a statement: “We would like to sincerely and warmly thank Jorge Sampaoli for his work. “After 16 months of collaboration, this work has enabled the club to take a step forward in the construction of its new sporting project and to qualify directly for the Champions League. We are satisfied with the progress made and the emotions experienced together, but following a long reflection, the two parties, who are acting in the interest of the Marseille project, have agreed to put an end to this stage.”
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