Claudio Ranieri returns to the Premier League to lead Watford

Watford’s defeat at Leeds saw coach Xisco Muñoz sacked. The club management wasted no time in finding a replacement. In comes seasoned veteran Claudio Ranieri.

The Italian coach already has some experience with English football, having managed Chelsea in the past and briefly working at Fulham 3 years ago. Of course, he made his name most famously at Leicester, with whom he sensationally won the title in the 15/16 season.

Since 2019, however, he has been based in his native Italy, where he has managed AS Roma and Sampdoria. He has been quite successful in his most recent stint – he took over Sampdoria in October 2019 when the club were in last place in Serie A. Under Ranieri’s leadership, however, he saved the day.

He even led Sampdoria to 9th place last season, but despite the interest of the management, he refused to continue at the club. He decided to look for a new challenge, which he eventually found at Vicarage Road.

Watford’s Italian owner Gino Pozzo reportedly knows Ranieri, who was linked with the Hornets back in 2019, well. It remains to be seen whether this will be an advantage for Ranieri and he will last longer in his new position than his predecessors.

The Hornets aren’t reluctant to remove a manager even after a few months on the job, after all Ranieri will be the 6th manager in the last 2 years. And he’s certainly not off to an easy start.

In the first game after the national break Watford will play Liverpool, then in November there will be games against Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester and Chelsea.

Source: Watford, Skysports