Lyon are set to hire former Arsenal and Juventus manager Joe Montemurro as their new head coach.
The deal is expected to be signed today (Wednesday) and is just waiting on the paperwork between Montemurro, Lyon and Juventus — who Montemurro left by mutual consent in March but is still under contract with — to be finalised.
The Ligue 1 side have been searching for a new coach since Sonia Bompastor departed for Chelsea to replace Emma Hayes last month.
Vincent Ponsot, Lyon Women CEO, and owner Michele Kang led the search for Bompastor’s replacement. Lyon spoke to several coaches, with Scotland boss Pedro Martinez Losa among the candidates, and Kang also reached out to managers from men’s teams.
Montemurro, 54, joined Juventus ahead of the 2021-22 season. Juventus won the league in Montemurro’s first season in charge, finishing as runners-up in the last two campaigns.
Lyon faced Montemurro’s Juventus during last season’s Champions League. Juventus won the first leg of their quarter-final 2-1 in Turin but lost the reverse fixture 3-1.
Lyon won the Premiere Ligue last season under Bompastor, their third title in a row. They also reached the Champions League final but lost 2-0 to Barcelona.
Montemurro spent almost four years as Arsenal boss between 2017 and 2021, recording three third-place finishes and one Women’s Super League title during his tenure. The Australian was previously in the final three candidates for the U.S. women’s team job before Hayes was appointed last year.
(Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images for APL)
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