Marseille ‘hammer blow’ as Bielsa quits

PARIS: Marcelo Bielsa stunned French football on Saturday when he abruptly quit as coach of Marseille minutes after the French giants had lost their season opener 1-0 at home to Caen.
“I have resigned from my post as manager of Marseille,” the Argentine announced at the end of his post-match news conference.
Bielsa, 60, has been linked to the Mexico national team manager’s role in recent weeks, and Marseille looked every inch a side affected by the off-field uncertainty surrounding his future.
Immediately after their lacklustre defeat, Bielsa, who only took charge at the Stade Velodrome in May 2014, delivered what captain Steve Mandanda described as his “hammer blow”.
“I have finished my work here, I will return to my country,” said the man who guided the former European champions to fourth place in Ligue 1 last season.”
‘El Loco’ blamed last minute changes to his contract for the decision which left Marseille president Vincent Labrune stunned.
“I am, like all the supporters, dazed by Marcelo Bielsa’s shock decision,” Labrune declared in a statement released early Saturday.
“However we take note of this decision which places the club in a difficult place having started the new season with a home defeat,” Labrune added.
He confirmed that one of Bielsa’s assistants, Franck Passi, would step up as caretaker coach pending a permanent replacement.
Bielsa in his resignation rocket thanked the fans “for always being behind me during games and on a daily basis”.