Lyon, Fabio Grosso exonerated

Fabio Grosso exonerated

In just over two months, the Fabio Grosso era at Lyon has already come to an end. The Italian coach took over from Laurent Blanc in mid-September, but was unable to revive a team that è remained at the bottom of the standings. Already on Tuesday, U.S. president John Textor sowed doubts about the coach’s future, saying simply "we’ll see" in response to a question, after Grosso risked losing an eye during Gattuso’s cancelled match with Marseille. Today è came the exoneration, inevitable after the last home defeat with Lille 0-2, which highlighted the limits of a team unable to recover. While waiting for a new coach, training center director Pierre Sage will take the baton.

Grosso’s track record since Sept. 16 has not brought good news. However, eight games are not enough to adequately judge his performance. Moreover, the Italian coach has accepted the challenge of getting a team upset by a precarious summer preparation, characterized by market and prospect uncertainties, back on track.

His predecessor Blanc was not satisfied with the signings and was not interested in sacrificing for the new ownershipà which had come into conflict with the previous one. In short, a troubled atmosphere in which Grosso è arrived to convey his enthusiasm and playing ideas. However, after the opening draw with Le Havre (0-0), things plunged to the worst.

From a purely accounting point of view, Grosso’s team has had only one success, three draws, and as many as four defeats. Last Sunday’s defeat, in particular, è was particularly painful and exposed the team’s confusion and fragility, which was also caused by internal tensions between more experienced players and the new generation.