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Italian job for coaches

Author: Rose Young
Date: 07/06/2009

Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to take the reins at Chelsea for the next three seasons but the Italian coach is hardly stepping into esteemed shoes in terms of Italian coaches in English football.

Fabio Capello might be taking the plaudits for guiding the England national team to the brink of qualification for the next World Cup, but on a domestic level his compatriots have fared remarkably poorly.

This batch of coaching disappointments does little to dispel the school of thought that, when it comes to English football, Italian exports seldom provide value for money.

Claudio Ranieri

Ranieri coached Valencia, Fiorentina, Napoli and Cagliari to great success but could not guide Chelsea to any silverware during four seasons at the helm.

The experienced coach hardly endeared himself to Blues fans after conducting his early press conferences in Italian and refusing to speak any words of English.

His tactical nous and man-management skills were also questioned as his constant chopping and changing of teams earned him the nickname of 'the Tinkerman'.

Ranieri guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup Final only to lose to Arsenal.

His profile improved towards the end of his reign when - buoyed by the cash brought to the club by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich - Chelsea finished second in the Premier League.

However, he was axed in favour of Jose Mourinho, whose subsequent success with largely the same personnel only highlighted Ranieri's shortcomings.

Gianluca Vialli

The warning signs should have been there for Ranieri as he took over from another failed Italian at Chelsea in Vialli.

The popular striker helped the Blues to a League and Cup Winners' Cup double in the opening months of his reign as player-manager at Stamford Bridge after inheriting Ruud Gullit's squad.

They won the FA Cup the following season but a failure to secure Champions League qualification in the 1999-2000 campaign led to his sacking.

Vialli lasted just five games of the following season when a series of fall-outs with key players led to his departure.

An ill-fated single season in the second tier with Watford when he made a number of expensive signings but could only finish 14th in the table hardly resurrected his career in England as planned.

Attilio Lombardo

Mark Goldberg made Lombardo player-manager of Crystal Palace when he took over the Premier League club in 1998.

Unfortunately for the ambitions chairman, his inexperienced manager presided over a nosedive out of the top-flight after struggling to cope with the demands of playing and managing.

He was replaced in the hot-seat by Terry Venables after winning just two home games all season.

The popular winger went on to win the Italian Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup with Lazio but has never returned to top-level coaching in either England or Italy.

Luigi de Canio

Eyebrows were raised when Flavio Briatore handed the reins of his recently acquired QPR side to little-known compatriot de Canio.

Serie A experience with Reggina, Udinese and Siena failed to help him in the hustle and bustle of the English Championship and his reign lasted just six months.

Rangers spent heavily during his time at the helm but they finished the 2007-08 season in a disappointing 14th place in the table.

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