Inter Milan have decided to recruit former AS Roma boss Luciano Spalletti as their new manager as they look to end their long-wait for Champions League football.
The Italian coach has inked a two-year contract with the Nerazzurri, who had a turbulent 2016/17 season in the Serie A.
The Nerazzuri dismissed three managers during the course of the previous campaign with Roberto Mancini being the first casualty due to the club’s poor performance in pre-season. Frank De Boer also did not do much to improve his record following an early season surprise, and this brought Stefano Pioli onto the hot seat. The 51-year-old managed to bring some stability to the squad with some fine displays after the turn of the year, but this was not sufficient to keep his job as the club missed out on Europe altogether.
Spalletti was axed following his second place finish with AS Roma late last month, and he has now been given the duties to do a similar job with Inter, who have failed to reach Europe’s premier competition since 2012.
Prior to his formal unveiling next week, Spalletti was delighted to take up the managerial role at the famous old club, he said: "I'm very enthusiastic to have joined this great family of Inter. Having the weight of expectation from millions of fans could be seen as a burden. But I see it as a challenge, one that I will approach with plenty of energy. We have a lot of work to do, and it has to be done seriously and professionally. We need to improve. And we need this team to be producing results worthy of Inter."
Not so long ago, Inter Milan were treble winners (2010) under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, and the new Chinese owners will be desperate to resurrect the club’s fortunes as they seek to end Juventus’ dominance in the Serie A.