Off the wire
• Six in ten Greeks support Greece to stay in euro zone, reject further austerity alike: survey  • Plastic surgeon may face charges after serious surgical accident in Saudi Arabia  • 1st Ld-Writethru: China's e-payment service provider eyes Shanghai listing  • Microbes discovered in Mexican crystal cave may have survived up to 50,000 years  • Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Feb. 19  • CBA Roundup: Shandong reaches playoffs, Beijing out  • Debt-plagued Mongolia accepts IMF condition to refinance existing loan  • Roundup: Flagship security meeting reveals strained U.S.-Russian ties  • 2nd LD: SpaceX successfully launches ISS resupply mission, rocket lands on ground.  • Greek FinMin criticizes IMF, Berlin for delay in bailout review  
You are here: 　 Home

Bielsa returns to Ligue 1 after signing a two-year deal with Lille

Xinhua, February 19, 2017 Adjust font size:

Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa will return to Ligue 1 after one-and-half years as he has signed a two-year contract with Lille, the club announced in a communique on their official website on Sunday.

"Marcelo Bielsa was the priority for president Gerard Lopez and the club's directors to manage the first-team and participate in the deployment of new sporting policy desired by the club," said the Lille club, currently ranked 15th in French league.

The 61-year-old Bielsa quit his coaching job at another Ligue 1 side Marseille in August, 2015. He will replace Franck Passi, his former assistant in Marseille, on July 1 this year. Passi will take control of the team until the end of this season.

"Bielsa is undoubtedly one of the most respected and influential coaches in the world. We manage to bring him here, which is an immense satisfaction, and proof of the club's ambitions towards the future," said Marc Ingla, Lille's director general. Endit