After Bielsa, Sampaoli?
This is, for the time being, a simple hypothesis.
According to our information, which partly confirms those of the Spanish daily As, OM, in search of a replacement for André Villas-Boas, laid off since February 2, has indeed come into contact with the former coach. from Argentina.
The latter, a big fan of Bielsa, is currently under contract with Atletico Mineiro, which ends its championship on February 26.
In any case, it will not rule before this date.
In Brazil, several sources report the existence of discussions, but none report a state of an agreement in principle.
In the event that this operation were to be successful, OM would therefore have to wait another three weeks before his arrival.
Until then, other tracks continue to be studied by Pablo Longoria, the director of Marseille football.
In good memory of the 2018 World Cup
The Brazilian team, where Sampaoli has been in office since 2020, is currently in 3rd place in the standings five points behind the leader, Internacional Porto Alegre.
Previously, Sampaoli, 60, happily led the selection of Chile.
With La Roja he won the Copa America in 2015. He also beat and eliminated Spain, reigning world champion, during the group stage of the 2014 World Cup before being eliminated by Brazil in the eighth final.
He had, however, less success with Argentina.
He was ousted just one year after his arrival following the elimination of the Albiceleste in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup by France (4-3), after a sluggish group stage.
He then served as technical director of Santos (2018-2019), then Atlético Mineiro where he won the Campeonato Mineiro.
His only experience in Europe dates back to the 2016-2017 season at the head of Sevilla FC.