France: death of Jean-Louis Gasset, former Ivory Coast national team coach.

French football has just lost one of its most respected figures. Jean-Louis Gasset passed away this Friday at the age of 72, plunging Ligue 1 and the whole world of football into deep sadness. A son of Montpellier Hérault SC, son of Bernard Gasset, co-founder of the Pailladin club, he embodied throughout his life a certain idea of football: discreet, hardworking and deeply human.

“MHSC learned today, with immense sadness, of the passing of Jean-Louis Gasset. The son of Bernard Gasset, one of the founding members of the Pailladin club alongside President Louis Nicollin, Jean-Louis was successively a player, a coach-educator, then head coach of the first team on three occasions, the last time from October 2024 to April 2025. A son of the club, he left his mark on everyone who crossed his path through his professionalism, his kindness, and his eagerness to pass on his knowledge. He was also a formidable ambassador for Montpellier’s youth academy, which he exported to major clubs, whether at Paris Saint-Germain, Espanyol Barcelona, AS Saint-Étienne, or Olympique de Marseille, as well as with the France national team, where he served as assistant to head coach Laurent Blanc. Today, the Montpellier club has lost one of its emblematic figures. Our sadness is immense when we recall his smile, his inimitable voice, and his sharp turn of phrase. President Laurent Nicollin and the entire club wish to extend their most sincere condolences to the family of Jean-Louis Gasset, particularly to his son Robin, currently assistant to Zoumana Camara at the helm of the club’s first team, his daughter Coralie, his mother Eliane, and the whole Gasset family,” MHSC wrote on its social media.

💫 Le MHSC a appris ce jour avec une immense tristesse la disparition de Jean-Louis Gasset.
Fils de Bernard Gasset, l’un des membres fondateurs du club Pailladin aux côtés du Président Louis Nicollin, Jean-Louis a successivement été joueur, éducateur puis entraîneur de l’équipe… pic.twitter.com/F48lz1CFBT

— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) December 26, 2025

Former MHSC midfielder between 1975 and 1985, Jean-Louis Gasset then left his mark on the game from the bench. A coach, then a top-level assistant, he left his imprint at many major clubs. At Montpellier, of course, which he led three times, but also at Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Marseille, or Paris Saint-Germain. Alongside Laurent Blanc, both at club level and with the France national team, he was one of the architects of resounding successes, including the historic treble won with the Girondins in 2009.

Returning one last time to the helm of his beloved club in 2024 after a brief spell in charge of the Ivory Coast Elephants and at Olympique de Marseille, Gasset never stopped passing on his passion and knowledge. Appreciated for his professionalism, kindness, and sharp sense of the game, he leaves behind a huge legacy. French football loses a valuable technician and a man universally praised.