Saturday 21 May 2016 15:20, UK
Watford have appointed Walter Mazzarri as their new head coach on a three-year deal, but who exactly is he?
Mazzarri, who replaces Quique Sanchez Flores in the Vicarage Road dugout from July 1, becomes the eighth manager to work under the Pozzo family since they completed their takeover of the club in 2012.
Flores enjoyed an impressive season in charge of the Hornets, guiding them to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League, as well as a run to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Mazzarri therefore faces a tough task replacing the popular Spaniard at the club, so what do we know about the 54-year-old?
Playing career
The journeyman midfielder enjoyed a 15-year career with mostly unsung teams in Italy.
After starting his career at Pescara in 1981, he moved onto have underwhelming spells with Cagliari, Reggiana and Fiorentina.
With his career at a crossroads, Empoli came calling in 1983 and he enjoyed five years there, making 91 appearances for the club. After leaving in 1988, he roamed around the Italian lower leagues playing for Modena, Nola, Viareggio, Acireale and Torres before retiring in 1995.
Managerial career
After working as a scout and a goalkeeping coach at Napoli, Mazzarri landed his first job as a manager with Acireale in 2001.
He failed to settle at one club in his early days as the main man, moving on to Pistoiese in 2002 and Livorno in Serie B in 2003 before making a name for himself at Reggina.
He spent three seasons at the Amaranto, leading them to three consecutive survival missions in Serie A and he drew significant praise in his final season in charge in 2007 as he led them to safety on the final day despite carrying a 11-point deduction.
His work caught the attention of the Sampdoria hierarchy and he spent two successful seasons there, taking Samp into Europe with a 6th place finish in his first season and to the final of the Coppa Italia a year later where they lost out on penalties to Lazio.
Mazzarri left Sampdoria by mutual consent at the end of the 2008/09 season.
However, he wasn't out of work for long as Napoli came calling after sacking Roberto Donadoni in 2009. He took his achievements to another level during a three year spell, where he helped put Napoli back at the top table of Italian football.
Mazzarri built a well organised and effective counter attacking side that finished sixth in his first season and improved again the following year to qualify for the Champions League in 3rd place in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia. They flourished in the Champions League too, qualifying for the knockout stages ahead of Manchester City to book a last-16 tie with Chelsea.
Mazzarri's men, with Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik at the forefront, raced into a shock 3-1 lead in the first leg but were sensationally knocked out with a 4-1 second-leg defeat at Stamford Bridge.
He left the club in May 2013 for Inter Milan after finishing 2nd in Serie A.
He spent 56 matches in charge of Inter but was sacked in 2014 after a series of disappointing results, leaving the club in 9th place. He has been out of work since.
What is his style?
He's regarded as a traditional Italian disciplinarian, who gets his teams well drilled and works them hard on the training ground. Watford won't lack for fitness under his watch.
Mazzarri has a knack of getting the best of out his strikers - his work with Cavani proves that. The Italian brought the striker to the club from Palermo in 2010 and made him the focal point of an attack that also included Ezequiel Lavezzi and Hamsik. Cavani scored 78 goals in 108 games before leaving for PSG.
Mazzarri reportedly moved to Manchester to learn English last year and has previously held talks with both Swansea City and Sunderland.
