September 16, (THEWILL) – Lyon have appointed former Italy defender, Fabio Grosso, as their new head coach, the club announced on Saturday.
Grosso, who was part of the 2006 World Cup-winning squad, has signed a contract until 2024 with an option for another year. He replaces Laurent Blanc, who left the club by mutual consent on Monday following a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Blanc had only been in charge since October 2022 and failed to qualify Lyon for European football for the second consecutive season.
Grosso is familiar with Lyon, having played for the club from 2007 to 2009. He won the Ligue 1 and French Cup double in his first season and reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in his second. He also won league titles with Inter Milan and Juventus during his playing career.
As a coach, Grosso has mostly worked in the Italian second division, with stints at Bari, Hellas Verona and Brescia. He also coached Swiss side FC Sion briefly before joining Frosinone in 2021. He led Frosinone to promotion to Serie A last May.
Grosso will take charge of his first game as Lyon coach on Sunday, when they face Le Havre at home. Lyon are currently bottom of Ligue 1 with only one point from four games. Grosso will hope to turn things around with a favourable run of fixtures against Reims, Brest, Clermont and Lorient before the next international break.
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.
