Didier Deschamps will replace the departing Eric Gerets as Marseille coach in June, the French club announced.

The former France captain has signed a two-year contract with OM and will take the reins this summer.

"Didier Deschamps will be OM coach next season," read a statement on the club's website, www.om.net.

Gerets announced last week he would not be renewing his contract that runs out at the end of the season.

Deschamps, 40, captained Marseille to Champions League success in 1993 and had two spells at the club as a player, between 1989-90 and 1991-94.

Since retiring as a player in 2001, he has coached Monaco and Juventus.

France's World Cup-winning skipper in 1998 left the Italian giants in the summer of 2007 and has since been working as a commentator on French television.

The statement continued: "Last Friday's meeting between the club president (Pape Diouf) and its principal shareholder (Robert Louis-Dreyfus) was able to confirm definitively this choice.

"After Eric Gerets, the club could only fix their choice on a coach of the highest standard to continue the great work already accomplished and the club's development on the playing front.

"Based on our criteria, the choice of Didier Deschamps, whose career as a player and a coach works largely in his favour, naturally won over."

Deschamps, who turned out for Nantes, OM, Bordeaux, Juventus, Chelsea and Valencia in a distinguished playing career, was also France captain when they won Euro 2000.

OM may well be champions of France by the time Deschamps takes over.

The Mediterranean side are top of Ligue 1, on goal difference from Bordeaux, with four rounds of fixtures remaining.

Deschamps came close to taking over at OM in 2006 - as a replacement for Jean Fernandez - but an 11th-hour difference of opinion saw him eventually take charge of Juve, who were in Serie B at the time.

Over the last couple of years, he has bided his time as he looked to make a return to coaching.

He was linked with vacant managerial roles at English clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, and was also heavily tipped to replace Raymond Domenech as France coach after Euro 2008.

Domenech has stayed on in his role but many believe Deschamps will be in charge of his country in the future.

As Monaco coach between 2001-05, he led the principality club to the Champions League final in 2004, where they lost 3-0 to Porto.