Lyon appoint former Ajax and Dortmund boss Peter Bosz

Robin Bairner

• 29 May 2021 18:05 BST
• 3 min read

Lyon have announced that former Ajax and Dortmund boss Peter Bosz has been given a two-year deal as head coach.

Bosz will be handed the task of lifting Lyon back into the Champions League after missing out in successive seasons under Rudi Garcia, whose contract was not renewed after a fourth-placed finish in Ligue 1.

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He has previously enjoyed notable success with Ajax, leading them to the final of the 2019 Europa League with a squad comprised of youth players.

“A recruitment priority for sporting director Juninho, Peter Bosz has taken charge of more than 400 matches as a coach and has consistently demonstrated across his various club experiences and ability to be able to actively rely on the young players whom he has at his disposal,” Lyon said in a statement.

“The profile of Peter Bosz is thus ideal; his arrival reinforces Olympique Lyonnais’ strategic outlook as being one aimed at relying more on players from the Academy, which is currently ranked the third-best in European football, behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona and having been in the top four for each of the last eight years.”

Bosz, however, was thought to be Lyon’s second choice before Lille’s title-winning coach Christophe Galtier.

The 57-year-old, who spent three years in France as a player with Toulon, was capped eight times with the Netherlands, and has coached in Israel and Germany as well as his homeland.

As Lyon intimated, Bosz will have a strong core of youth players to work with, including exciting winger Rayan Cherki, who is reckoned to be one of the biggest prospects in the French game currently.