Ranieri to teach Parma English

'Take no prisoners'
The 55-year-old Rome-born coach intends to use the lessons learned from four seasons in the Premiership with Chelsea FC to help struggling Parma. "I will take no prisoners," he pledged. "You're either with me or against me. I want my players to be thinking about Parma 24 hours a day. I want to give them the confidence and desire to fight for one another. Parma's main problem is that players give up at the first sign of difficulty. I will try to bring some experience from my time in England where every team fights until the final whistle in every single game. I want my players to have the same approach."

Foreign travels
Few Italian trainers can match Ranieri's international experience. After leading Cagliari Calcio, SSC Napoli and ACF Fiorentina, the one-time AS Roma defender left Italy to join Valencia CF in 1997. Then, after a brief stay at Club Atlético de Madrid, he switched to English football and the helm of Chelsea. He returned to Valencia for a less successful second spell, in 2004/05, and has subsequently been out of work.

Couto selected
Ahead of Thursday's trip to Braga, Ranieri announced that Portuguese veteran Fernando Couto was to be his team leader. "Couto has a terrific personality," Ranieri said. "He will be the boss in our dressing room. If he gets behind me, the other players will follow." The match will be a special one for 37-year-old former FC Porto centre-back, who will be reunited with another Portuguese great, João Pinto, 18 years after both helped Portugal win the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Italian priorities
With Parma second from bottom in Serie A, Ranieri is expected to rest important players ahead of the weekend league visit of UC Sampdoria. "The club can only survive if we manage to avoid relegation," he explained. "Still, the game against Braga will not be a training match for us. The players who are not playing that much in domestic games must show me they are willing to give everything for Parma."

European pedigree
UEFA Cup winners in 1994/95 and 1998/99 and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners in 1902/93, Parma have an impressive recent European pedigree, though Ranieri knows football has little respect for reputation. "This club has a great tradition in Europe, but you don't earn results because of your history," he said. "Braga are the favourites right now, but I remember two years ago when Parma were struggling in Serie A and reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals. I hope we can match and improve on that."