Marcelo Bielsa resigns as Marseille manager one match into season
Marcelo Bielsa has resigned as Marseille coach just one match into the new season.
Olympique Marseille began their Ligue 1 campaign with a 1-0 loss to Caen at the Stade Velodrome, after which Bielsa announced his departure.
The Argentinian's position had been a source of off-season speculation, with suggestions he could leave to manage Mexico, and a club statement read: "In the post-match press conference, Marcelo Bielsa announced he was standing down from his post as OM coach."
OM's Twitter account carried several quotes from Bielsa's press conference.
Marcela Bielsa annonce sa démission → http://t.co/a5JcdJoHj9 #OMSMC pic.twitter.com/hP1gJV9Hzi
— Olympique Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 8, 2015
#Bielsa " J'ai mis tout ce que j'avais dans cette équipe "
— Olympique Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 8, 2015
#Bielsa " Je ne pars pas d'ici pour aller autre part "
— Olympique Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 8, 2015
"I am leaving my post as coach of OM," he said. "My work here is over, I will return to my country. I am not leaving here to take another job. I thank the supporters, who were always behind me during the matches and day to day. I have given all I have to this team."
The club also revealed Bielsa had confirmed his intentions in a letter to club president Vincent Labrune just before he entered the conference.
The news adds to a turbulent summer which has seen Marseille lose the spine of last season's starting line-up - defenders Rod Fanni and Jeremy Morel, midfielder Giannelli Imbula, winger Dimitri Payet and forwards Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac have all left the club.
Andy Delort's well-taken 27th-minute goal was enough to condemn Marseille to defeat on Saturday as Michy Batshuayi, leading the line following Gignac's exit, missed a host of chances.
