Maurizio Sarri, Rafa Benitez, Lucien Favre… Several prestigious and more or less realistic tracks have been mentioned here and there for the succession of André Villas-Boas on the bench of OM in recent days.
There was also talk of former Barça coach Ernesto Valverde, Leonardo Jardim or OM-stamped options, such as Rolland Courbis or Habib Beye.
Another name had leaked, that of Jorge Sampaoli.
And it could be the right one.
According to
AS
, the 60-year-old Argentinian technician and the Marseille club have sealed an agreement in principle.
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One concern, however: Sampaoli is currently stationed in Brazil, at Atlético Mineiro.
And he does not intend to leave before the end of the championship on February 26.
"The sports management of the French club is ready to wait," we assure you, specifying, however, that Marseille leaders are not completely "clear" on this point in view of the urgency of the current situation.
It must be said that after the sensational start of “AVB” last Monday, the Olympians went to Lens with Nasser Larguet, director of the training center, on the bench.
He was assisted by Philippe Anziani, Maxence Flachez and Laurent Spinosi.
A match in which Steve Mandanda and company did not go far from the correctional, after leading 2-0.
They finally left Bollaert with a point (2-2).
Sunday, PSG will be on the menu, the 100th Classic.
All while the gap is widening between the Top 4 (Lille, Lyon, Paris, Monaco) and the rest of the pack in the standings.
But beyond the sporting situation, the whole club is in crisis, with a violent sling against President Eyraud.
Success with Chile, less with Argentina
Despite this delay of a few weeks, it is therefore Jorge Sampaoli who would have accepted to take up the Marseille challenge.
AS specifies that Sarri has rejected OM, refusing to take charge of a team during the season.
“The disciple of Marcelo Bielsa is loved by the sports management for trying to practice attacking football, as El Loco did in the 2014-2015 season.
His excellent work in Seville and in the Chilean national team was enough to consider him as an option for the Marseille bench ”, specify our colleagues.
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Recall that Sampaoli, in post at Atlético-MG since March 2020, had indeed led Chile to the coronation at the Copa America 2015. He had on the other hand experienced less success at the head of the Argentine national team, with an exit from the track in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup against the Blues, in Russia (2-4).
At club level, he has coached in Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Brazil.
His stint at Sevilla FC during the 2016-17 season represents his only experience in Europe to date.
The only one before Olympique de Marseille?
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