Marseille has named Gennaro Gattuso as their next head coach in Ligue 1

Following Marcelino Garcia Toral’s resignation from his position as coach of French powerhouse Marseille last week, Gennaro Gattuso was chosen as his replacement on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old Italian stated in a statement, “I am extremely thrilled and proud to join Marseille — a club and a stadium, the Velodrome, in which I had the pleasure to play and which is famed across Europe for the love and fervor that comes from it.

Gattuso has had notable managerial positions at AC Milan and Napoli, but since leaving Valencia at the beginning of this year, he has been a free agent.

Gattuso, an Italian World Cup champion who mostly played for Milan during a very successful playing career, has lately been linked to Marseille’s French rivals Lyon.

After just seven competitive games as manager, Marcelino resigned last week, throwing Marseille into a dilemma.

After a meeting between fan representatives and the club management that apparently got hostile, Pablo Longoria and a number of his senior colleagues were reportedly intimidated and instructed to get ready for “war” if they didn’t leave. This led to his resignation, according to Marseille.

Being close to Marcelino, Longoria retreated to think about his stance before opting to stay with the club.

After losing 4-0 away to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, Marseille sits seventh in Ligue 1.

They are also taking part in the Europa League this year and will welcome Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion there the following week.

On Saturday, Gattuso’s first game in charge will be against Monaco.