Ligue 1: Rudi Garcia appointed as Lyon coach; Toulouse sack Alain Casanova and bring in Antoine Kombouare

Lyon: Lyon have named Rudi Garcia as their new coach following the sacking of Brazilian Sylvinho last week, while Toulouse appointed Antoine Kombouare as coach in place of Alain Casanova. [caption id=“attachment_7498761” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Rudi Garcia. AFP[/caption] Former Arsenal and Barcelona full-back Sylvinho saw his first role as a head coach last only 11 matches as Lyon slipped to within a point of the relegation zone in the French top flight after a seven-game winless run. Former Marseille, Lille and Roma boss Garcia has joined on a deal until 2021. “I chose Rudi Garcia because he is a fighter who, like us, has the ambition to win titles and succeed on the European stage,” said Lyon sporting director Juninho, who had also hand-picked his compatriot Sylvinho to replace Bruno Genesio at the end of last season. The 55-year-old Garcia led Lille to a league and cup double in 2011 and spent three years with Italian giants Roma from 2013. He left Marseille in May after failing to lead Lyon’s bitter rivals into the Ligue 1 top three, missing out on Champions League qualification. “He is an experienced coach who has already won trophies. Wherever he has been, he has had above-average performances and has always managed to make the most of what he had at his disposal,” added Juninho. Garcia took training on Monday as his new team prepare to face second-bottom Dijon at the Groupama Stadium on Saturday. Sylvinho’s surprise exit came even though Lyon have claimed four points from their first two Champions League group-stage outings. They will visit Benfica in Garcia’s first away game in charge on 23 October as they look to edge closer to a second straight appearance in the Champions League. Toulouse bring on Kombouare In a statement, Toulouse said that the 55-year-old Kombouare had signed a deal contract until June 2021. Casanova was sacked on Thursday after a 3-1 home defeat to Bordeaux which left the club in 18th place, a point and one place away from the automatic relegation spots after failing to win in five matches. A league winner as a Paris Saint-Germain player in 1994, Kombouare also won the French Cup as manager with PSG in 2010 and was coach when Qatari investors took over the following year. He was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti in December 2011 with PSG top of the league following the takeover from the club’s current Qatari owners that summer. Last season he took over at Dijon with them third-from-bottom in Ligue 1 and managed to escape automatic relegation on the final day before beating Ligue 2 side Lens in a playoff.