Franck Passi (born 28 March 1966) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is the assistant manager of

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

side

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. He played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Coaching career

Passi worked in a player recruitment role for one of his old clubs,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, between 2007 and 2010 before becoming Reserve Team Coach at the club in May 2010. In 2012, he was promoted again, this time as assistant coach to Elie Baup. After the departure of Baup in December 2013, Passi continued his duties as assistant coach under

José Anigo José Anigo (born 15 April 1961) is a French professional football manager and former player. Career Anigo was born in Marseille, and after a tough childhood went on to play for his home town club for eight years where he established a reputatio ...

, as well as under Argentine coach

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...

. In August 2015, after Bielsa left following defeat in the opening game of the season, Passi was appointed caretaker boss. In the one game of his tenure, his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

debut away to

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, the team lost 1–0. On 19 April 2016, Bielsa's successor Míchel was sacked on the day before the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

semi-final against

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

, and Passi took temporary charge for the second time in the season. He won the game 1–0 through

Florian Thauvin Florian Tristan Mariano Thauvin (born 26 January 1993) is a French professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), right winger or forward (association football), forward and Captain (association footba ...

's goal. In the 2016 Coupe de France Final, the team lost 4–2 to ''

Le Classique Le Classique (, The Classic) is the rivalry between French professional Association football, football clubs Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Olympique de Marseille (OM). The duo are the two Football records and statistics i ...

'' rivals

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. Passi saved Marseille from relegation and led the club for exactly six months until October 2016, when

Rudi Garcia Rudi José Garcia (; ; born 20 February 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Belgium national team. Garcia began his professional career with Lille, and went on to have stints ...

was hired as Míchel's replacement following the club's takeover by

Frank McCourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book '' Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank M ...

. In February 2017, Passi was named caretaker boss of fourth-from-bottom

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, to pave the way for Bielsa's arrival in the summer. On 24 January 2019, Passi was named caretaker coach of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, following the suspension of

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

. He oversaw the team for just one match, a 2–0 defeat to

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, before

Leonardo Jardim José Leonardo Nunes Alves Sousa Jardim (; born 1 August 1974) is a Portuguese football manager. He is the current head coach of Brazilian club Cruzeiro. He started working at the professional level at the age of 35, initially with Camacha an ...

was installed as permanent coach. In January 2020, Passi was appointed as manager of

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

club

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (; often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) are a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwest ...

until the end of the season following the departure of Pascal Plancque. He left at the end of the season, saying that he was preparing to be an assistant at

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

's new project. In December 2020, he became Blanc's assistant manager at

Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

Personal life

Passi comes from a family of footballers. His father, Camille Passi, was a Congolese footballer, and coach in his later career. His son, Bryan Passi, is a professional footballer who also played for Montpellier. His brother,

Gérald Passi Gérald Passi (born 21 January 1964) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Personal life Passi was born in Albi, Tarn. He comes from a family of footballers. His father, Camille, was a Congolese former football ...

, was also a professional footballer who played for the

France national football team The France national football team () represents France in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Euro ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passi, Franck 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Bergerac, Dordogne Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers France men's under-21 international footballers French sportspeople of Republic of the Congo descent Montpellier HSC players Olympique de Marseille players Toulouse FC players SC Toulon players AS Monaco FC players SD Compostela footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players La Liga players Segunda División players English Football League players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England French football managers Olympique de Marseille managers Chamois Niortais FC managers Ligue 1 managers Ligue 2 managers Footballers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in England Black French sportspeople 20th-century French sportsmen