Struggling Lyon Hires Former Italy Defender Fabio Grosso as New Coach

Juventus player Fabio Grosso in Catania on September 25, 2011, during the Serie A match against Catania. Italian coach and former player Fabio Grosso has been appointed Olympique Lyonnais (OL) head coach on September 16, 2023. (Photo by MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO / AFP)
Juventus player Fabio Grosso in Catania on September 25, 2011, during the Serie A match against Catania. Italian coach and former player Fabio Grosso has been appointed Olympique Lyonnais (OL) head coach on September 16, 2023. (Photo by MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO / AFP)
TT
20

Struggling Lyon Hires Former Italy Defender Fabio Grosso as New Coach

Juventus player Fabio Grosso in Catania on September 25, 2011, during the Serie A match against Catania. Italian coach and former player Fabio Grosso has been appointed Olympique Lyonnais (OL) head coach on September 16, 2023. (Photo by MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO / AFP)
Juventus player Fabio Grosso in Catania on September 25, 2011, during the Serie A match against Catania. Italian coach and former player Fabio Grosso has been appointed Olympique Lyonnais (OL) head coach on September 16, 2023. (Photo by MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO / AFP)

Struggling French club Lyon hired former Italy defender Fabio Grosso as its new coach on Saturday.

Grosso replaces Laurent Blanc, who left by mutual consent following a terrible start to the season, The Associated Press reported. Lyon is in last place with only one point from four games.

Lyon said that the 45-year-old Grosso has a contract until the end of the season, with the option for an extra season.

He will watch the home game against promoted Le Havre on Sunday night and take charge of the team on Monday.

Deputy coach Jean-Francois Vulliez will oversee the Le Havre game.

Grosso won the World Cup with Italy as an attack-minded left back in 2006. He played 75 games for Lyon from 2007-2009, helping the club win the league and French Cup double in 2008 in an era when it dominated French soccer.

Last season, Grosso showed his coaching credentials when he guided Italian club Frosinone to the second-tier Serie B title.



Miretti Scores Landmark Double as Genoa Beats Lecce

Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
TT
20

Miretti Scores Landmark Double as Genoa Beats Lecce

Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

A first-half double from Fabio Miretti, his first brace as a professional, gave Genoa a 2-1 win over Lecce in Serie A on Friday.
The midfielder scored two exceptional goals to lift 12th-placed Genoa to equal on points with Torino, which has a game in hand, The Associated Press reported.
The first was a volley taken over his shoulder and from a tight angle after 16 minutes. The second, in first half stoppage time, came when he took an excellent pass from Rusian Malinovskyi and spun inside the box before firing home.
Nikola Krstović pulled a goal back from the spot for Lecce midway through the second half but Lecce remained 16th, just two points ahead of the relegation zone.
The southern club is winless since the last day of January, a run dating back six games.