July 1, (THEWILL) – Jorge Sampaoli’s departure as Olympique de Marseille’s head coach has been officially announced by the French side, as he leaves Stade Velodrome after only a year and a half into his appointment.
The 62-year-old took over as manager of the Ligue 1 team in March of last year, and in his only full season in charge, he led them to a second-place finish behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. However, only a few weeks after qualifying for Europe, the former manager is departing after allegedly growing impatient with the team’s lack of ambition and recruitment activity.
“[We] would like to sincerely and warmly thank the work of Jorge Sampaoli,” read an official club statement on the exit of the manager. “We are satisfied with the progress made and the emotions experienced together, but following a long reflection, the two parties […] have agreed to put an end to this stage [of their careers].”
Pablo Longoria, the club’s president, will immediately start looking for a replacement for Sampaoli, who departs with 36 victories from 67 games managed and one season remaining on his contract.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
