Claudio Ranieri Profile
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Claudio Ranieri, who spent his playing days with AS Roma, Catanzaro and Catania, began his managerial career in the lower divisions of Italian football with Campania after having a coaching role with Vigor Lamezia. After two years at the club he would move on to make his name as a successful coach with Cagliari. In his first season at the Stadio Sant'Elia, Ranieri would take the club up as champions of Serie C/1b and then directly into the top flight. The next port of call would be Napoli. Although Ranieri failed to enjoy any real success with the club, he would nurture the talents of one Gianfranco Zola - the pair would later be reunited. Ranieri first began to taste real success when moving to Fiorentina in 1993. Again his initial influence led to silverware as the Viola won Serie B to earn a return to the big time. Fiorentina would go on to win the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup before Ranieri switched to the Spanish game. Valencia lured Ranieri to La Liga, and it was an appointment they would not regret. The Italian coach is credited with making the club into the force they are today, winning the Spanish Cup in 1998. Valencia would go on to qualify for the Champions League for the first ever time and, post-Ranieri, become a real contender in European and domestic competition. When Ranieri was lured to Atletico, many fans of the Madrid club could be forgiven for thinking the good times were just around the corner. But the move turned sour as the club was taken into judicial administration after embezzlement allegations against Jesus Gil. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was signed from Leeds United for £12million, but despite finishing as the top scorer in Spain he could not save them from relegation. Ranieri walked in April, taking six months out of the game to take stock before Chelsea chairman Ken Bates approached him to take over from the sacked Gianluca Vialli. Vialli had left Stamford Bridge in controversial circumstances, a huge crowd favourite after picking up five trophies. But Bates clearly felt differently, and when Vialli was booted out early in the 2000/01 season he moved swiftly for his replacement. Ranieri came in for much criticism when he first took over at the fashionable London club. He failed to endear himself to the fans by being unable to speak English, having to give interviews through an interpreter who didn't seem to have a real grasp of Italian. The Blues' supporters then took to chanting Vialli's name in a bid to get him reinstated, a ploy that was always doomed to failure. The boss' penchant for changing the system on numerous occasions, and making treble substitutions, also had the fans questioning his tactical acumen. Ranieri's appointment may have upset the fans, but Bates was delighted with his progress in moulding a brand new Chelsea. A new five-year contract was agreed at the start of the year 2002 as Barcelona were rumoured to be lining the coach up for their top job. Chelsea continued to disappoint in the Premiership, but would reach the 2002 FA Cup final before losing to London rivals Arsenal. A cash flow crisis at Stamford Bridge meant there was no money for Ranieri to spend prior to the start of the 2002/03 season, although a mooted move to Barca for Hasselbaink never materialised.
He looked to have been proved correct as Chelsea qualified for a return to the Champions League. Ranieri's men put in a fine performance on the final day of the season, beating Liverpool at Stamford Bridge to seal fourth place in the table. The arrival of Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich at Stamford Bridge in July 2003 gave Ranieri untold riches in the transfer market. But where there is cash there also must be success. Over the course of the 2003/04 campaign, Ranieri would spend in the region of £130million. Only weeks after Abramovich bought Chelsea there were rumours over the future of the manager, especially after England coach Sven Goran Eriksson was photographed meeting him at his home. Eriksson eventually pledged his future to the national side, and as Chelsea reached the semi-finals of the Champions League it looked as though he could hold onto his job. But a catastrophic series of substitutions in the first leg against Monaco left his tenure in ruins. The score was 1-1, with the principality side down to ten men, but the 'Tinkerman' got it all wrong and his side lost 3-1. They would not make the final. Ranieri retained his dignity throughout the drama, always enjoying a laugh and a joke with the media and become a favourite of fans around the country and not just Chelsea. But finishing second in the Premiership, ahead of Manchester United, was not enough to save his job. And on May 31, after a long and drawn out saga over his future, Chelsea confirmed his departure. Ranieri is one of the true characters in the game, and a new opportunity was far away. Within a week he had been installed at Valencia, returning the the Spanish club for a second stint. The club had just won the La Liga title and the UEFA Cup. Ranieri won the European Super Cup, beating FC Porto, in August 2004.
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