Claudio Ranieri became coach of Juventus on Monday, bypassing a reported offer to return to English soccer with Manchester City.
The former Chelsea manager signed a three-year contract and will replace Didier Deschamps, who left Juventus eight days ago.
"I like electrifying challenges," Ranieri said. "There's a lot of hard work to be done. We've got to get Juve back where it belongs."
PHOTO: AFP
Italian and British media reported last week that Ranieri had reached a three-year deal with Man City to replace Stuart Pearce, who was fired as manager of the Premier League club on May 14.
Juventus was relegated to Serie B at the end of 2005-2006 as punishment for its part in the Italian match-fixing scandal but has clinched promotion back to Serie A for next season.
"There's an ambitious plan. The fans should stay calm, we'll make them feel proud of what Juve accomplishes in Italy ... and then in Europe," Ranieri said.
Ranieri compared his decision to accept the job to "lightning in a clear sky," adding he had to accept it.
"I wasn't expecting it, but you can't say no to Juve," the Italian said. "Juventus is a huge opportunity for me."
Ranieri quit Parma on Thursday after helping the club avoid relegation from Serie A.
Deschamps' assistant Giancarlo Corradini will coach Juventus in the final round of the Serie B season on Sunday against Spezia, and Ranieri will take over on July 1.
A former defender for AS Roma, Catanzaro, Catania and Palermo, Ranieri began his professional coaching career with Cagliari, bringing the Sardinian club up from the third division to Serie A in 1990.
He coached Napoli from 1991 to 1993, guiding the club to a fourth-place finish in his first season.
After a year off, Ranieri returned with Fiorentina in the second division, brought the Tuscan club back up to Serie A and won an Italian Cup and an Italian Supercup in 1996.
Ranieri then went to Spain and won the Copa del Rey with Valencia in 1997. After a short spell with Atletico Madrid, he joined Chelsea and remained there from 2000 to 2004, leading the English club to the Champions League semifinals in his final season.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS