Tuesday 14 July 2015 14:19, UK
As Claudio Ranieri returns to the Premier League with Leicester, we take a look at the Tinkerman's highs and lows since leaving Chelsea 11 years ago.
The Italian has had seven different roles since Roman Abramovich relieved him of his duties at Stamford Bridge in 2004.
Here's what he's been up to...
Valencia
Just a month after being dismissed at Chelsea - where he had led the west Londoners to a second-place finish and the Champions League semi-finals - Ranieri returned to Valencia for a second stint at the Mestalla.
The Italian replaced out-going boss Rafa Benitez, who was on his way to Liverpool after winning the UEFA Cup and La Liga double, and, after a UEFA Super Cup victory over Porto and strong start in the league, Ranieri seemed set to build on that success.
However, Valencia then won just once in seven games, and were knocked out of the Champions League before Christmas. Another poor run and UEFA Cup exit to Steaua Bucharest saw Ranieri sacked in February 2005 - although a reported £3m pay-off may have softened the blow.
Parma
After two years away from the game, Ranieri returned to the dugout to take charge of Parma in February 2007. Once again, the Italian had a positive impact in his new job, steering Parma away from the relegation scrap and up to 12th in Serie A.
Ranieri's work saw him linked with a number of top clubs and betting was suspended on the former Chelsea boss returning to England to manage Manchester City. Instead, Juventus came calling for his services and he left Parma after just one season.
Juventus
Ranieri took charge of the Old Lady in July 2007, as the Italian giants prepared for their first season back in the top flight following the match-fixing scandal which had seen them demoted to Serie B. He led Juve to a third-place finish and Champions League qualification.
Juventus celebrated home and away wins over Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase the following season. However, they were eliminated by Ranieri’s former side Chelsea in the first knock-out round and, despite putting the club on course for a second-place finish in Serie A, a string of poor results towards the end of the season saw the manager dismissed with two games to play.
Roma
Ranieri returned to management with the club he supported as a boy, Roma, in September 2009. The Rome-born boss inspired his troops to a remarkable mid-season run which saw the club propelled into the title race.
It wasn't to be for Ranieri, though, as Jose Mourinho's Inter - who Roma had beaten as they surged to the top of the league - stormed back to win Serie A and then defeated the capital club in the Coppa Italia final as they marched towards a memorable treble.
The 2010/11 season saw Roma and Ranieri fail to build on their impressive work of the previous year and the hometown boy resigned in February.
Inter Milan
Never out of work for long, Ranieri stepped into the Inter Milan hotseat the following September and got off to a winning start against Bologna. Seven victories in a row in December had the Nerazzurri fans contemplating a title tilt.
Once again, though, Ranieri's immediate impact faded away and, after just two wins in 13 games - plus a Champions League exit to Marseille - the Inter Milan board had seen enough.
Monaco
Not for the first time in his career, Ranieri was backed by a rich Russian owner when he returned to work in May 2012 at Monaco. The ambitious Dmitry Rybolovlev was eager to see his side charge back into France's top tier and Ranieri helped them do just that - Monaco won Ligue 2 at a canter.
The Italian was handed a war chest the following summer and recruited £50m Radamel Falcao in a £140m spending splurge. A second-place finish may have been seen as a good return for most newly-promoted sides but once again, Ranieri found himself sacked by a Russian owner who deemed a runners-up spot as a failure.
Greece
It’s fair to say Ranieri failed to flatter in his most recent role. As Greece boss, the Italian managed to lose three of his four matches in charge - the 2004 European champions scraped a 1-1 draw in Finland - with an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Faroe Islands proving to be the final straw for the Greek FA.
This was Hellenic Football Federation president Giorgos Sarris after the Faroe Islands loss: "Following today's devastating result for the national team, I take full responsibility for the most unfortunate choice of coach, which has resulted in such a poor image of the national team being put before the fans."
