Claudio Ranieri is back in the Premier League after being hired as Watford’s new manager on Monday. Former Chelsea boss Ranieri, who led Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016, has agreed a two-year contract with the Hornets to replace sacked Zisco Munoz.
“Watford FC is pleased to confirm the appointment of Claudio Ranieri as the club’s new head coach on a two-year contract,” the club’s website announced in a statement.
“The Italian comes to Vicarage Road with a wealth of experience in charge of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Premier League, Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey titles among his managerial highlights.”
Rainieri finished 15th in the Premier League with Watford after scoring seven points in his opening seven matches.
The 69-year-old Italian left Sampdoria at the end of last season and has been looking to return to the sport ever since.
Xisco pushed for promotion to Watford from the championship last season, but was relegated on Sunday after only 10 months in charge.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Leeds prompted Watford’s owners, the Pozzo family, to take action, with the club claiming a “negative trend” in performance had convinced them to move on from Zisco.
Ranieri is Watford’s 13th permanent manager since the Pozzo family took control of the club in 2012.
He has a wealth of experience with clubs such as Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and Atlético Madrid, as well as on his CV.
Ranieri founded Chelsea as a Champions League club during his spell from 2000 to 2004, but Roman Abramovich ousted him to make way for Jose Mourinho.
His biggest win came when he masterminded Leicester’s resounding title success five years earlier.
Fox was a 5,000-1 outsider and battled relegation for the season before Ranieri reached a move that was widely panned by pundits.
Despite Leicester’s incredible success, he was sacked just nine months after title glory after a poor run that left the club outside the relegation zone.
Ranieri last featured in the Premier League in 2018-19 during a brief stint at Fulham.
He remained at Fulham for only 106 days after being unable to clear him of a relegation problem.
Watford’s first match with Rainieri in charge will be against Liverpool at Vicarage Road on 16 October.
Rainieri will be joined at Watford by assistant coaches Paolo Benetti and Carlo Cornacchia, as well as fitness coach Carlo Spignoli.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here. follow us on Facebook, Twitter And Wire.
.