French football manager Jean-Louis Gasset, who was in charge of Ivory Coast for the start of their Africa Cup of Nations campaign on home soil last year, has died at the age of 72.
Gasset's former clubs, nations and players paid tribute to the coach.
Since leaving the Ivory Coast post during the Nations Cup last year, Gasset held the reins at Marseille during the final months of the 2023-24 season, following the dismissal of Gennaro Gattuso.
His last post was Montpellier head coach, a role he left by mutual consent in April.
"The Ivorian Football Federation have learned with deep consternation of the death of Mr. Jean-Louis Gasset, former head coach of the national side, which took place on Friday," read a statement on the official FIF handle, signed by FA president Yacine Idriss Diallo.
"The loss of Mr. Gasset represents a significant loss for Ivorian and international football.
"A seasoned coach, a man of duty and principle, he left his mark on the technical management of the Elephants of Ivory Coast through his expertise, professional rigour, and commitment to football."
Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is urrently competing at the Nations Cup with Gabon, also paid homage to his former head coach.
"One look was enough!" Aubameyang posted on his Instagram story, with a short clip of the pair together. "Thank you coach. We will miss you, Mr. Gasset."
As well as three stints at his hometown club Montpellier, whom he represented as a player for a decade between 1975 and 1985, Gasset also took control of Caen, Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux among others during his 27-year coaching career.
As Laurent Blanc's assistant at Bordeaux between 2007 and 2010, he won a domestic treble, while the pair also worked together at France and Paris Saint-Germain. At the Parc des Princes, the duo won three Ligue 1 titles in a row, as well as the French Cup in 2015 and 2016.
"Jean-Louis successively served as player, trainer and then as first-team coach on three occasions," read a statement from Montpellier. "A child of the club, he left his mark on everyone who crossed paths with him through his professionalism, kindness and thirst for passing on knowledge.
"Montpellier has lost one of our iconic figures. Our sadness is immense when we recall his smile, his inimitable voice, and his sharp choice of words."
Saint-Etienne also paid tribute to their former manager, who qualified Les Verts for European football thanks to a fourth-placed finish in Ligue 1. "The club will never forget a man who contributed to writing un-deletable pages in its history," read a statement on ASSE's official handles.
Taking over as Ivory Coast head coach as a replacement for Patrice Beaumelle in May 2022, Gasset resigned in January 2024 following a disappointing performance at AFCON on home soil in the group stage.
However, an unlikely combination of other results going their way sent the hosts through to the knockouts as one of the fourth best of the third-placed teams, where Gasset's assistant Emerse Fae stepped in to replace his departed boss.
Fae would go on to inspire the Elephants one of the most remarkable AFCON victories in history, as they steadily got the public back on side, and eliminated Senegal, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo before seeing off Nigeria in an emotional Abidjan final.
"On a personal level, he's like our grandfather," Ivory Coast striker Sébastien Haller said of Gasset last year. "He's quite kind, gentle, takes the time to talk, he's calm and speaks quietly."