Ranieri ‘delighted’ to return home

Former Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri began his second spell in charge of Valencia on Tuesday when he returned to sign a two-year deal with t...

Former Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri began his second spell in charge of Valencia on Tuesday when he returned to sign a two-year deal with the recently crowned Spanish champions.

‘‘I’m delighted to be back home,’’ the 52-year-old Italian told a news conference at the club’s Mestalla stadium. ‘‘I promised I would return and here I am. When the club asked me if I wanted to return I jumped at the chance.’’

The club said that Ranieri, who coached Valencia between 1997 and 1999, had signed for two seasons with an option to extend the deal for another year. Ranieri, who still had three years left on his contract with Chelsea, was sacked by the London club last week despite steering them to the semi finals of the Champions League and second place in the Premier League.

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He reached a financial agreement with Chelsea on Monday, hours before flying out to Spain to put the finishing touches to his new contract with Valencia.

	Real wanted me back, says ex-coach Del Bosque

			• ISTANBUL: Vicente del Bosque revealed on Tuesday he had rebuffed overtures for a return to Real Madrid as assistant coach before accepting this week a two-year managerial post with Turkish side Besiktas. ‘‘I was offered a position by my former club but not as coach’’, Del Bosque told reporters at a ceremony where he signed his multi-million dollar deal.

Ranieri succeeds Rafa Benitez, who quit last week after leading the side to victory in both the Spanish title race and the UEFA Cup. Benitez is favourite to take over as Liverpool manager.

Asked about the difficulties of returning to the club to take charge of a winning side, Ranieri said that he was more than ready to take up the challenge. ‘‘Nothing is simple in football,’’ he said. ‘‘It could be more difficult for me this time round because it will be hard to improve on a champion team. But I like challenges and this is one that I am delighted to accept.’’

During his previous spell at Valencia, Ranieri guided them to victory in the King’s Cup and a first qualification for the Champions League in 1999.

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He joined Atletico Madrid immediately after the Cup victory, but his tenure at the club was cut short when they went into administration and he quit his post just seven months after taking charge.

Ranieri was appointed Chelsea coach in September 2000 after the departure of Gianluca Vialli, leading them to the FA Cup final in 2002 and to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League the following season.

But his future at the club was thrown into doubt after it was bought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in July 2003. Abramovich spent more than 100 million pounds ($184.1million) on new players, but despite steering the side to a second-place finish in the Premier League and the Champions League semi finals he was unable to win the confidence of the new owner.

After months of speculation, the Italian was finally dismissed last week and replaced by Jose Mourinho who masterminded Porto’s triumph in this season’s Champions League. (Reuters)

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