Ranieri named Parma coach

Rome, February 13:

Claudio Ranieri has been appointed the new coach of Parma, the struggling Serie A club confirmed.

The 55-year-old former Chelsea and Valencia coach replaces Stefano Pioli, who was sacked following Sunday’s 3-0 league defeat at Roma which left Parma second from bottom.

Ranieri returns to coach in his native Italy after an absence of nearly 10 years. After spells at Cagliari, Napoli and Fiorentina, he left Italy in 1997 to coach in Spain and spent two years at Valencia and one at Atletico Madrid.

Ranieri then moved to England to take charge of Chelsea FC, where he spent four years.