Official | Rudi Garcia appointed Napoli head coach

Rudi Garcia has been appointed as the new Napoli head coach, the Serie A champions have announced. The French manager will replace Luciano Spalletti, who decided to leave after offering I Partenopei their first Serie A title since 1990. Garcia was a free agent since his dismissal as Al-Nassr coach, the Saudi outfit for which Cristiano Ronaldo is playing. Garcia is no stranger to the Serie A dugouts. The 59-year-old Frenchman coached AS Roma for two and a half years, from 2013 to 2016.

✍️ Rudi García è il nuovo allenatore del Napoli!
Benvenuto Mister 👋 pic.twitter.com/aYjOVpGDP9

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) June 15, 2023

He was then appointed Marseille coach when American businessman Franck McCourt completed the club’s takeover in 2016. He led Les Phocéens to a Europa League final, which they lost to Atlético Madrid in 2018. Garcia left Marseille in 2019 and bounced back some weeks later by replacing the struggling Sylvinho at Lyon, Marseille’s bitter rivals. As head of Les Gones, Garcia qualified for the 2020 Champions League semi-finals during the tournament’s Final 8. Lyon fell to eventual winners Bayern Munich. Relations turned sour between Garcia and Sporting Director Juninho and the former was dismissed.

Although Christophe Galtier was considered to replace Spalletti, it is another French coach that led Lille OSC to a Ligue 1 title that got the nod from club chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis. It will be Rudi Garcia’s responsability to launch Napoli’s Serie A title defence.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval