Bielsa may replace Inter's Leonardo
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Inter Milan coach Leonardo may leave and former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa has been contacted about possibly replacing him, the Italian Serie A club's president Massimo Moratti said yesterday.
Leonardo, who only took over at Inter in December before his side missed out on a sixth straight Serie A title when former club AC Milan won the scudetto, has been linked in the media with a sporting director job at another former team Paris Saint-Germain in France.
"I believe there has been a first contact with Bielsa, but not by me," Moratti told reporters having denied the rumors on Tuesday.
"Leonardo has coached with a lot of desire and passion but his aspirations for the future are not certain.
"It suits him to follow his dream and for us to look for a new coach. But it could well be that Leonardo changes his mind and we do too."
Brazilian Leonardo led Milan to third place in Serie A in the 2009/10 season in his first job as a coach having been a director at the Rossoneri.
He left after clashing with Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi over tactics while there were also reports he wanted to spend more time with his children in Brazil.
Italian football was stunned when he suddenly reappeared as coach of Milan's great rival Inter in December after Rafael Benitez was sacked after just half a season in charge.
Inter, which won the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010, struggled with Benitez as boss and improved under Leonardo but his tactics were criticized when losing to Milan in Serie A and Schalke in the Champions League quarterfinals as the holder.
Argentine Bielsa has been out of work since leaving as Chile coach in February.
The 55-year-old, whose unconventional methods have found fame, bossed Argentina from 1998 to 2004 but failed to win a major trophy. His only experience in Europe was a short spell with Spain's Espanyol in 1998.
PSG, where Leonardo played in 1996-97, was recently bought by Qatari investors and reports in France have said that Leonardo has held talks in Doha about reviving its fortunes as a sporting director.
Also in France, Olympique Lyon and Claude Puel have failed to settle their differences during a mediation session, likely ending the coach's tenure at the Ligue 1 club.
Puel and Lyon officials met in Paris under the supervision of the French league juridical commission yesterday. The head of the commission, Andre Soulier, said both parties failed to agree on a common future and that the club is now entitled to end its relationship with Puel.
Soulier said the juridical commission "ratified the divorce decision between both parties."
Lyon hasn't won any silverware since Puel took over from Alain Perrin, who led Lyon to the league and French Cup double in 2007-08. Puel has a year left on his contract.
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