In September, when Lyon were searching for a new coach to replace Laurent Blanc, they considered turning to Gattuso. However, in the end owner John Textor plumped for Grosso, who had the advantage of being a former OL player at the tail end of their glory years in the first decade of the 21st century.

Curiously enough, Grosso himself has said that he could have become the coach of OM, having spoken to them ahead of this season when they were looking for a successor to Igor Tudor. “I decided to wait. I spoke to the OM directors, but in the end they had other ideas. I wished them good luck,” Grosso said.

At that time Marseille appointed Marcelino, who resigned in September after just seven games. And so Gattuso was the man OM president Pablo Longoria turned to in the hope the former AC Milan midfielder could revive the club’s fortunes.

Crisis management

Both Gattuso and Grosso have been brought in to rescue their new clubs from crises. Marseille failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage under Marcelino and are off the pace in Ligue 1. Grosso came in at Lyon with the seven-time champions struggling without a win this season. Four games into his reign and Lyon have still not won, collecting one point from a possible 12 under the Italian. Claims of dressing-room disharmony have emerged in recent days, with Grosso reportedly trying to root out a mole who might have been leaking stories to the media.

Given that backdrop, it is maybe not the ideal time for Grosso and Lyon to be playing such a big game, but the visit to the Orange Vélodrome will allow him to catch up with his old friend. “I wish him the best. He is a great guy. We have a great relationship,” Grosso said recently when asked about the prospect of pitting his wits against his old teammate.

Both men are 45, with Grosso being born in November 1977, two months before Gattuso. They took different paths to the top as players, although each first appeared in Serie A with Perugia. Gattuso broke through there before being sold to Scottish giants Rangers in 1997 when still a teenager. Grosso spent years in the Italian lower leagues before moving up to the top flight with Perugia in 2001, at the age of 23.

World Cup glory

They first played together for Italy in November 2003, yet Grosso dropped down to Serie B with Palermo shortly after that while Gattuso had recently won the Champions League with Milan. Nevertheless, Grosso remained part of the national set-up and both were key players for Marcello Lippi’s team by the time the 2006 World Cup came around.

It was to be the crowning moment in the playing career of both players. Gattuso was a tigerish presence in midfield as always, doing the dirty work for the classy Andrea Pirlo alongside him. Grosso, meanwhile, was the unlikely hero, scoring a crucial goal late in extra time in the semi-final win over hosts Germany and then netting the winning penalty in the shoot-out in the final against France. “I will always remember having put an end to a curse,” Grosso said in an interview with FIFA.com last year, referring to Italy’s many heartbreaking defeats in past penalty shoot-outs.

While Gattuso continued to star for Milan for several more years, winning another Champions League in 2007, Grosso played out the remainder of his career at Inter, Lyon and Juventus. Soon both moved into coaching, like many other members of Italy’s World Cup-winning team.

Can Gattuso make greater experience count?

Fabio Cannavaro, the captain in 2006, has had some success as a coach in China. Pirlo is now in charge at Sampdoria in Serie B. Filippo Inzaghi has just been appointed by Salernitana, while Alberto Gilardino is at Genoa.

There are similarities in the paths taken by Gattuso and Grosso even before they both arrived in Ligue 1 within the space of a few weeks. The former’s first job was at the Swiss club Sion, where he finished his playing career. He lasted just three months there in 2013. Grosso had already worked in the youth set-up at Juventus and had brief stints at Bari, Hellas Verona and Brescia before he went to Sion in 2020. He lasted longer than Gattuso in Switzerland, but didn’t see out the season.

While Grosso’s only notable success as a coach before arriving in Lyon came last season, when he led Frosinone to promotion, Gattuso has arguably the most impressive track record of all those members of Italy’s 2006 side who have gone into management. He spent 18 months in charge of Milan and then coached Napoli for a similar amount of time, winning the Coppa Italia there in 2020.

Will that extra experience give him the edge on Sunday as Marseille welcome Lyon into the bearpit of the Vélodrome, where Gattuso prowls the touchline, a bundle of energy constantly gesticulating and barking instructions? Or will Grosso, something of a late bloomer as a player before his World Cup heroics, deliver an overdue first win of the season for his new club at the expense of his old friend and compatriot?

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