Raja Casablanca announced Sunday that they have officially signed a one-year contract with French coach Bertrand Marchand to replace Romanian Eily Blatchi in leading the first football team without disclosing the financial details.

The Moroccan giants offloaded their Romanian coach after failing to book a place in the CAF Champions League semifinals as they are in tail of Group A with three points. Moreover, the team also was eliminated from the Moroccan domestic Cup championship.

The 58-year old Marchand led Tunisian outfit Etoile du Sahel to snatch the domestic Cup there in 2007 season along with leading them to reach the semis of FIFA Club World Cup 2007.