Jean-Louis Gasset, a specialist at clubs in trouble, came out of retirement to coach slumping Montpellier

Robert Novoski

Coach Jean-Louis Gasset on March 31, 2024, during a match between Olympique de Marseille, which he was managing at the time, and Paris Saint-Germain, in Ligue 1. Coach Jean-Louis Gasset on March 31, 2024, during a match between Olympique de Marseille, which he was managing at the time, and Paris Saint-Germain, in Ligue 1.

“Coach, it’s over. My decision is final. » In May 2024, ahead of his last match on the bench at Olympique de Marseille, Jean-Louis Gasset looks ready to say goodbye to the world of football forever. In the end, his retirement only lasted five months. Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (MHSC) has hired the 70-year-old until the end of the season, it has been announced Team and Agence France-Presse, Tuesday 22 October.

At Hérault, Jean-Louis Gasset arrived with a simple mission: to try to keep the department’s flagship club in the first division. Accustomed to playing the role of a firefighter on duty at clubs that request his services, coach Michel Der Zakarian this time failed to extinguish the fire that emerged. He was sacked on Sunday after the beating inflicted on his squad by Olympique de Marseille, at the Mosson stadium (5-0), and left in the hands of Jean-Louis Gasset a club that knew nothing about the game, with no recruits in the team. off-season and most importantly a good finish in the championship after six defeats in eight games.

An impossible career ending

“We will try to find a coach who wants to get his hands dirty and has our DNA”explained President Laurent Nicollin on Sunday, after Marseille’s defeat. And Jean-Louis Gasset’s profile fits this description: the coach is not entering unfamiliar territory at Montpellier. He was born in the city, spent most of his career as a quarterback there between the 1970s and 1980s, and began his coaching career there, first as an assistant (1985-1998) before being promoted to head coach for one season. But also because he has a special knack for being the leader of a club in dire straits trying to give them new life. He also achieved this in 2017 in… Montpellier. Arriving at that season, he managed to keep the Hérault team in the elite.

Since then, Jean-Louis Gasset has continued to explore France and its clubs. Who has worked with Paris Saint-Germain, Caen and Istres, this time he sat on the bench for Saint-Etienne (2017-2019) and then Girondins de Bordeaux (2020-2021). Before the improbable end of his career. Appointed as Ivory Coast’s selection leader with the aim of winning the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, he was sacked after a group phase marked by extreme qualifying but also a heavy defeat against Equatorial Guinea (4-0). Therefore, from his sofa he watched the unexpected Elephant event, led by his former assistant Emerse Faé.

The latter did not fail to pay tribute to his predecessor, considering that he was also the African champion. “He is 100% part of the title adventure, he has only missed two weeks since June 2022.he explained to Team. Words that undoubtedly pleased Jean-Louis Gasset, but not as much as the phone call received a few days later from Marseille who came and coached Olympique de Marseille in trouble. A freelancing period of several months similar to the past; but at the age of 70, Jean-Louis Gasset is still able to blame everyone.

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