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Report: Villas-Boas near Marseille appointment

VCG / Visual China Group / Getty

Portuguese tactician Andre Villas-Boas is reportedly close to ending his managerial hiatus.

A year-and-a-half after leaving Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG to pursue a career in off-road racing, the 41-year-old is set to succeed Rudi Garcia at Marseille, according to a report from the Telegraph's Jason Burt.

Days after Garcia confirmed the end of his spell on the Cote d'Azur, Villas-Boas has apparently held fruitful discussions with Marseille director of football Andoni Zubizarreta. Marseille finished fifth in Ligue 1 this season and failed to qualify for European competition for the third time in five campaigns.

Villas-Boas' appointment has been years in the making.

"I was already in contact with Marseille in 2013 before I went to Zenit. It's one of the biggest clubs in Europe with lots of prestige and a European Cup winner," Villas-Boas told the Bilbao International Football Summit in 2016. "It's obviously something that interests me but they've just made the decision regarding Rudi Garcia. The club is well-led by Andoni Zubizarreta. If they come around we will of course meet with them and it could be a possibility."

Vaulted into the managerial spotlight following a Primeira Liga-Europa League double at Porto, Villas-Boas enjoyed two stretches in London with Chelsea and Tottenham before moving east to win the top flight of Russian football with Zenit St. Petersburg in 2015.

Following a brief stop in China, Villas-Boas left football to compete in the 2018 Dakar Rally. He was forced to withdraw in the fourth stage after suffering a back injury.

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