Ranieri the right man for Juventus

Juventus have appointed Claudio Ranieri as their coach after parting company with Didier Deschamps last month following their promotion back to Serie A. "When Juventus call, you don't say 'no' and I didn't. We want to get Juve back where they belong as quickly as possible, both in Italy and in Europe," the new man said.

Official statement
Following a meeting of the Bianconeri board of directors, the Turin club had issued a statement saying: "Ranieri is the right choice in accordance with Juventus's objectives and traditions. He is a coach with experience and has an international vision of football." The 55-year-old Ranieri, who has signed a three-year contract, resigned from his position at Parma FC last week having helped the side avoid relegation from Serie A. He had taken charge in February after the sacking of Stefano Pioli and lifted Parma from second from bottom to 12th place in the 20-team table.

Coaching credentials
"It is very important that a coach is respected by the most important players in the squad and Ranieri certainly is," said Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli. A former AS Roma defender, Ranieri coached Cagliari Calcio, SSC Napoli and won the Italian Cup with ACF Fiorentina before moving to Valencia CF in Spain, lifting the Spanish Cup then joining Club Atlético de Madrid. He subsequently switched to English football and spent four campaigns with Chelsea FC, guiding the London outfit to the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. He returned to Valencia for a less successful second spell, yet had been out of work since February 2005 until Parma came calling.