Claudio Ranieri has been re-appointed Cagliari boss, more than three decades after first managing the club.
He made his name as a manager with the Italian side between 1988 and 1991, taking them from Serie C to Serie A.
Ranieri has signed a deal until the summer of 2025 in his first role since being sacked by Watford in January,
“I’m going back to Cagliari,” said the 71-year-old Italian. “I’ve always known it, I declared it even then, at the time of my departure.”
Ranieri replaces Fabio Liverani – who was sacked earlier in the week – as Cagliari boss, with the club currently 14th in Serie B.
He added: “Cagliari made me understand that maybe I could make it in my job. I had found all the elements that helped me in those three years – fans, players, managers, we were all one.
“In these days you have helped me make this decision, which was not easy for various reasons. We are bound by mutual respect and love, many beautiful memories.
“I come with unchanged enthusiasm, love and passion, but I alone is not enough.
“The help of the club will be needed, which strongly wanted me, my new boys, our fans will be needed, especially them, to push our Cagliari to the results that we all strongly hope for.
“I’m sure we’ll all find ourselves together pushing the team, all in the same direction, because that’s all we want.”
Ranieri was dismissed by Watford at the start of 2022 after less than four months in charge.
He famously won the Premier League title with Leicester in 2015-16, also previously managing Chelsea and Fulham in the English top-flight in a nomadic career that has seen him work across European football.
