New Marseille boss Tudor vows to put team spirit centre stage

New Marseille coach Igor Tudor on Tuesday pledged to install a team ethic at the heart of his project at the club.

Former Verona boss Igor Tudor was installed as the new head coach at Marseille following the departure of Jorge Sampaoli. AP - Paola Garbuio

The 44-year-old Croatian took over at the Vélodrome on a two-year contract from Jorge Sampaoli who had led the club to second place in the 2021/22 Ligue 1 campaign.

Tudor, who won two Serie A titles as a player at Juventus, said: "The idea is for people to see a real team. I know the supporters have lots of expectations. We'll achieve our goals through hard work."

Marseille finished 15 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain and will play in next season's Champions League.

"Everyone uses a different style to win matches, Tudor added. "I want us to play an intense attacking football but obviously we have to be defensively solid.

Challenge

"I want people to come to see us and not go away from the ground disappointed."

After finishing his playing days at Hajduk Split - where he started his career in 1995 - he was head coach at the club between 2013 and 2015.

He moved on to posts in Greece and Turkey before taking returning to Serie A at the Italian outfit Udinese.

Following a year as an assistant to coach Andrea Pirlo at Juventus, Tudor was appointed boss at Hellas Verona.

He steered the side to 9th place in Serie A last season but left after falling out with the club directors.

On Tuesday afternoon, PSG are expected to unveil Christophe Galtier as their new head coach.

The 55-year-old led Lille to the Ligue 1 crown in 2021 before decamping for the French riviera at Nice.

Galtier's side were among the title challengers before Christmas but fell away in January and February.

Nice reached the final of the Coupe de France where they outmuscled by Nantes.