Bielsa returns to Ligue 1 after signing two-year deal with Lille

Argentine football coach Marcelo Bielsa will return to Ligue 1 after one-and-half years as he has signed a two-year contract with Lille, the French football club announced on Sunday.

"Marcelo Bielsa was the priority for president Gerard Lopez and the club's directors to manage the first-team and participate in the deployment of new sporting policy desired by the club," said the Lille club, currently ranked 15th in French league.

The 61-year-old Bielsa quit his coaching job at another Ligue 1 side Marseille in August, 2015. He will replace Franck Passi, his former assistant in Marseille, on July 1 this year. Passi will take control of the team until the end of this season.

"Bielsa is undoubtedly one of the most respected and influential coaches in the world. We manage to bring him here, which is an immense satisfaction, and proof of the club's ambitions towards the future," said Marc Ingla, Lille's director general.

--IANS

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