Marseille (AFP) – French Ligue 1 giants Marseille on Monday named ex-Croatia international Igor Tudor as their new coach to replace Jorge Sampaoli.

Tudor coached Verona in Serie A last season, leading the club to ninth in Italy’s top flight. He stepped down after failing to come to an agreement on how to build on that impressive finish.

“I think we’ve found in Igor Tudor what we need,” Marseille’s American owner Frank McCourt said in a statement.

“I’m delighted to welcome him into our club. Igor is a combative  man, as he has shown throughout his career, be it as a coach or player.”

Argentina’s Sampaoli quit Marseille earlier this month because of what he said were differences with the club’s hierarchy after guiding them back to the Champions League

Tudor spent the majority of his playing career at Juventus and won 55 caps for Croatia, featuring in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups as well as the 2004 Euros.

The 44-year-old kicked off his coaching career with home club Hajduk Split in 2013, before bouncing from PAOK in Greece to Karabukspor and Galatasaray in Turkey and then on to Udinese in Italy before taking in a second stint in Split followed by an assistant role with Juventus and finally taking the reins of Verona last season.