- published: 28 Apr 2016
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Claudio Ranieri (born 20 October 1951 in Rome) is an Italian football manager who is the coach of AS Monaco. He previously managed many other well-known European clubs, namely Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus, Roma and lastly Inter.
Ranieri first signed as a professional football player with Roma, though in his two seasons with the club he only made six appearances; he also had a one-month loan spell with Siracusa. As a player, Ranieri played most of his career as a defender for Catanzaro (1974–1982), Catania (1982–1984), and Palermo (1984–1986). He was involved in four successful promotion campaigns (two with Catanzaro and one each with Catania and Palermo).
After amateur side Vigor Lamezia, his first managerial position was at Campania Puteolana, a small team in Pozzuoli. He took charge there in 1987. However, it was at Cagliari that he made his name, getting them promoted to Serie A from the third division Serie C1 in successive seasons.He moved to coach at Napoli for two seasons. Despite finishing in fourth place in Serie A, he won no silverware. He did, however, introduce Gianfranco Zola to the first team to replace Diego Maradona. He joined Fiorentina in 1993, gaining promotion from Serie B in his first season. He subsequently had success in Serie A, winning the Coppa Italia and SuperCoppa Italiana in 1996. In 1997, Ranieri moved to Spain to take over at Valencia. He was the coach from 1997 to 1999 and guided Valencia to UEFA Champions League qualification and the Copa del Rey in 1999.