Gattuso: 'I am not afraid of arriving in hot places like Marseille'

Two most famous active Marseille born coaches were called to save Olympique. And both Zinedine Zidane and Christophe Galtier ended up rejecting their boyhood club. So, it was up to the president Pablo Longoria to find a quick solution for the club in crisis (again). He found an experienced but not very successful manager who just signed one plus one year with the French giant. Gennaro Gattuso became the newest Marseille coach and was presented first to the players and then to the press today at the club’s facilities. After getting sacked from almost every club he went to, the former Italian midfielder got another high-profile job (after AC Milan and Napoli) and will have a tough job to calm down the fan base, restore the team spirit and most importantly, to start winning in Ligue 1.

In the past, the club hired ‘crazy’ managers, or to be milder, managers with ‘colorful’ characters like Marcelo Bielsa, or Jorge Sampaoli and it didn’t work, so it’s a big question will it work with the third one. Gattuso certainly has the heard, but he’s far from tactical genius. His overall record is 138 wins, 80 draws and 92 defeats. He only has one Coppa Italia with Napoli to show for so far. He was head coach of Sion, Palermo, Crete, AC Milan, Napoli and Valencia.

"The choice for me was simple. We had discussions for five hours, over two days, with the president. It happened straight away, the choice was safe. I had convictions about this club. It's the only French club that has won the Champions League. Obviously, it's a club that's having difficulties at the moment otherwise I think I wouldn't have been called up. It's a team with values. I thank the players. I know that I am arriving in a place with a very warm atmosphere but it is not something that scares me. I want to work hard. I think that my past as a coach has proved that I am not afraid of arriving in hot places like here. The dead end is Europe. My contract extension is linked to Europe. So I want us to finish among the first four places otherwise I risk going home” he told the media at the introductory press conference.

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Pablo Longoria is ‘wasting’ his fourth coach since 2021, when he became the president. He appointed Jorge Sampaoli as the head coach in 2021 (André Villas-Boas left and Nasser Larguet was the interim manager), but he left after one season, since he didn’t like the project and money available. In came Igor Tudor, whose methods were not popular in the dressing room, so he resigned after one season and then came Longoria’s longtime friend Marcelino, but he lasted only seven games into the season. And not it’s time for Gattuso.

“Gennaro had the profile. We studied well what he did in the past. He worked in clubs with a lot of pressure. He did an extraordinary job. He played good football in Naples and Milan, he won the Italian Cup in Naples. Naturally, I spoke with him. He became the man for the job after our various conversations. He showed a lot of energy, a lot of desire to come to the club, personality, charisma, a style of play with very good ideas adapted to our players. We have a similar vision of the workforce. After an hour of discussion, I had no doubt” said Longoria.