Ex-Rangers star Gennaro Gattuso has been sacked by Marseille – the third time he’s been relieved of his managerial duties in the last four years.
The former AC Milan midfielder and Italian World Cup winner, 46, lasted just five months in his latest role at L’OM who are currently languishing in 9th in the French top flight.
A humiliating 1-0 defeat to Stade Brestois 29 at the weekend – the late winner coming after Brest had been reduced to 10 men – proved the final nail in the coffin.
Picking up only nine wins from his 24 matches in charge, Gennaro Gattuso leaves Marseille with his managerial reputation in tatters.
Gennaro Gattuso sacked by Marseille
Gattuso hasn’t enjoyed much success recently as a manager and there will now be major doubts surrounding his suitability for top roles around Europe.
There’s only so much hiring and firing a young manager can go through before he’s risking the permanent scrap heap and we suspect the ex-Rangers star will be taking a step back.
He shouldn’t be the only one either.
Having been sacked by Napoli back in 2021 after a failure to qualify for the Champions League, the 73-times capped Italian almost immediately bounced back into work with Fiorentina.
However, that ill-fated stint with the Violas ended before a ball was even kicked, Gattuso lasting only 23 days after a dispute over transfers.
In the same summer, Gennaro Gattuso then almost joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur as manager, before a fan backlash over historic comments halted the switch.
The Italian has since gone on to claim that the moment “hurts more than any defeat or dismissal”.
Fast forward a year and the former midfielder was offered an opportunity with Valencia and a first stint in Spain as manager.
Against the backdrop of poor form and a headline-making clash with a cameraman, Gattuso was out on his backside after six months before taking the Marseille job eight months later in September 2023.
Ex-Rangers midfielder must salvage reputation
Gennaro Gattuso spent a year at Ibrox as a teenager back in 1997 but his time in Scotland and at Rangers had a big bearing on his career.
Rangers had a dressing room and squad full of huge stars and Gattuso played alongside the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Brian Laudrup, and Ally McCoist at Ibrox that season.
Spending only a year at the club, Gattuso went on to carve out a legendary career in the game, his tenacious midfield style synonymous with AC Milan and Italy in a career where he won it all.
As a manager however, the last few gigs haven’t exactly gone to plan and it’ll be interesting to see where the fiery Italian winds up next.
One of his former Rangers teammates has even tipped Gattuso to one day take the reins at Ibrox.
