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Former Leicester and Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri appointed new Watford boss

mirror.co.uk, 4 October 2021, 16:08

Watford have appointed Claudio Ranieri as the club's new manager.

The 69-year-old Italian takes over at Vicarage Road following the sudden sacking of Xisco Munoz on Sunday.

Ranieri was previously dubbed 'the Tinkerman' from his spell in charge of Chelsea and memorably led Leicester City to their miraculous Premier League title triumph in 2015/16.

He was sacked by the Foxes the following February and has since had stints at Nantes, Fulham, Roma and Sampdoria.

Ranieri opted to leave Sampdoria at the end of last season after guiding them to a ninth-placed finish in Serie A, and now becomes the Hornets' 15th permanent manager in the last decade.

Ranieri's Leicester side shocked the football world when they stormed to the title in 2015/16 ( Image:

Getty Images)

His first game in charge will be the visit of Liverpool on October 16 after the international break.

Watford are currently 15th in the table after recording two wins and one draw in their first seven games back in the top flight.

The club's board moved to replace Munoz just 10 months into his tenure and only a few months since he led the team back into the Premier League via automatic promotion.

A club statement on Sunday read: "Watford FC confirms Xisco Muñoz has left his post as the club's Head Coach.

"The Board feels recent performances strongly indicate a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving.

"The Hornets will always be grateful to Xisco for the part he played in securing last season's promotion and wish him well for his future career in football."

Will Ranieri be a success at Vicarage Road? Have your say below.

The Italian was sacked by Leicester just months after leading them to the title ( Image:

PA)

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