ROME, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Struggling Serie A side Parma
have appointed Claudio Ranieri as their new coach. The 55-year-old
former Chelsea coach, who signed a contract until the end of June,
takes the place of Stefano Pioli, who was sacked on Monday after a
3-0 defeat to AS Roma at the weekend.
Parma lie 19th in the 20-team division on 15 points from 22 games,
three points from escaping the relegation zone. Ranieri is expected
to take charge of the club for the first leg of their UEFA Cup
first knockout round tie at Braga in Portugal on Thursday.
"I'm confident we can avoid relegation. I've taken on this job
because I believe in the project the club is trying to push
forward," Ranieri was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport
on Tuesday. "I've seen Parma a few times recently. They play well,
but I want them to be less beautiful and more practical."
Ranieri made his name at Cagliari between 1988 and 1991, taking the
southerners from the third division Serie C1 to Serie A in
successive seasons. Stints at Napoli and Fiorentina followed, but
in 1997 he left Italy to take charge of Spanish side Valencia, who
he led to victory in the Copa del Rey in 1999.
After a brief period at Atletico Madrid, he took charge of Chelsea
at the start of the 2000-01 season. Under Ranieri the club
consolidated its position among the elite of English clubs, but
never quite fulfilled the promise. Ranieri's over-rotation of the
squad, however, earned him the nickname "The Tinkerman" and he was
sacked in May 2004.
