Juve job ‘too tempting’ to refuse, says Ranieri

CLAUDIO RANIERI admitted the Juventus job was too tempting to turn down after being unveiled as Didier Deschamps’ successor.

It had been reported Juve had initially targeted their former coach Marcello Lippi, while former striker Gianluca Vialli was also believed to be in the frame.

But the former Chelsea manager, who resigned as Parma coach after saving them from Serie A relegation and had been strongly linked with Manchester City, has signed a three-year with the Turin club.

Ranieri said: “This is a beautiful, difficult and electrifying challenge.

“It is a great opportunity for me and there’s a lot of work to do in order to recover Juve’s standing.”

He continued: “I have the possibility to return Juve to where they belong and it is an electrifying challenge.”

The Turin giants were demoted prior to last season to Serie B for the first time in the club’s history following a match-fixing scandal, and the pressure will be on the 55-year-old to restore them to the top of Serie A.

Juve last week clinched the Serie B title with a 2-0 win over Mantova to ensure an immediate return to the top flight.

Deschamps and the club decided to “amicably separate” just hours after the triumph.

Ranieri started his managerial career with Campania before making his name with Cagliari.

After spells with Napoli and Fiorentina, he enjoyed a two-year stint at the Valencia helm. A brief period at Atletico Madrid followed before Ranieri headed to England to join Chelsea in 2000.

Ranieri ultimately failed to deliver at Stamford Bridge and was replaced by Jose Mourinho in May 2004.