Olympique Lyonnais formalized this Thursday the departure of its coach Fabio Grosso. To succeed him, John Textor made a clear choice.
A place at the bottom, a huge construction site in the game, disconnected executives and a climate of crisis for many months: Olympique Lyonnais is going through the worst season in its history. For the second time since the curtain rose, the Rhone club announced a change of coach. After Laurent Blanc, it was Fabio Grosso who was sidelined by his management.
“Taking into account the results obtained and after an in-depth analysis of the situation of the professional team, currently 18th in Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais has decided to implement a procedure which could lead to the termination of Fabio Grosso’s employment contract and his deputies, Raffaelle Longo, Francesco Vaccariello, Vittorio Carello, and Mauro Carretta, can we read in an official press release published this Thursday on the OL website. Pending the outcome of this procedure, the preparation and supervision of the match in Lens, this Saturday at 5:00 p.m., will be ensured by Pierre Sage assisted by Jérémie Bréchet, Jean-François Vulliez and Rémy Vercoutre as goalkeeper coach. Olympique Lyonnais would like to thank Fabio Grosso and his deputies for their involvement and professionalism since taking office at the head of the professional team. »
Who is the new OL coach?
Director of the OL training center, Pierre Sage therefore finds himself thrown onto the front line in a rather brutal manner. If the name of the interim coach of Les Gones is not known to the general public, Sage can nevertheless rely on solid experience in the world of football. Assistant to Habib Beye at Red Star, the technician has mainly imposed his methods in the Lyon academy, with a modus operandi based on the mind.
It remains to be seen whether Pierre Sage will be able to find the levers to redress the situation in the very short term, while OL must face Lens this Saturday then Marseille 4 days later. Two important exams for a trainer more renowned for his building skills than for his firefighter profile. Some observers do not hesitate to compare his characteristics to those of a certain Franck Haise. A reason for hope for Lyon supporters…
