Ranieri to lead Parma survival fight
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Article summary
Struggling Parma FC have brought Claudio Ranieri back into football after a two-year exile by appointing him as coach to replace the outgoing Stefano Pioli.
Article body
European tie
The decision came in the wake of Sunday's 3-0 defeat at AS Roma which left Parma second from bottom in Serie A with 15 points from 22 games. Pioli, 41, had joined Parma from Modena FC in the summer and helped his side reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32, where they travel to Portugal's SC Braga for the first leg on Thursday.
Experienced coach
A former Roma defender, the 55-year-old Ranieri started his coaching career at Naples club SSC Campania Ponticelli 1975 before moving to Cagliari Calcio in 1991 and then SSC Napoli and ACF Fiorentina, where he won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup. He subsequently went to Valencia CF in Spain, lifting the Copa del Rey ahead of a brief stay at Club Atlético de Madrid, before switching to English football and four seasons at Chelsea FC whom he guided to the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. He returned to Valencia for a less successful second spell, and has been out of work since February 2005.
