Serie B side Cagliari have appointed the much-travelled Claudio Ranieri as head coach on a contract until June 2025, some 31 years after he left the role.
The 71-year-old Italian is best known for guiding Leicester City to a fairytale Premier League title in 2016, but he failed to work his magic at Watford as they earned only seven points in three months before he left the job in January. He previously managed Chelsea in England's top flight.
Ranieiri, who has also managed several clubs in Italy including Juventus, AS Roma and Inter Milan as well as teams in Spain and France, takes over a Cagliari side who are in 14th place in the second tier after being relegated last season.
I'm going back to Cagliari: I've always known it, I declared it even then, at the time of my departure," Ranieri told the club website.
"Cagliari made me understand that maybe I could make it in my job, I had found all the elements that helped me in those three years: fans, players, managers, we were all one.
"In these days you have helped me make this decision, which was not easy for various reasons. We are bound by mutual respect and love, many beautiful memories.
"For this, I come with unchanged enthusiasm, love and passion, but I alone is not enough. The help of the club will be needed, which strongly wanted me, my new boys, our fans will be needed, especially them, to push our Cagliari to the results that we all strongly hope for."
