PARIS, May 28 — Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss Andre Villas-Boas has been named as the head coach of Olympique de Marseille on a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said today.

Portuguese Villas-Boas, 41, will replace Rudi Garcia, who departed after the club finished a disappointing fifth in the league to miss out on qualifying for the Champions League.

Villas-Boas has been out of a job since he left Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG in November 2017. In one year at the club, he led them to runners-up finishes in the league and the Chinese FA Cup, as well as to the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.

After beginning his coaching career as an assistant to Jose Mourinho, Villas-Boas made his breakthrough by guiding Porto to a treble, which included the 2011 Europa League crown.

His managerial stint with Chelsea lasted less than 12 months before he joined Spurs where he was sacked after 1-1/2 seasons.

He did not win any silverware with the London clubs but helped Zenit St Petersburg claim the Russian Premier League in 2015 and then the Russian Cup the following year. — Reuters