AS Roma said in a statement on
Thursday that Luciano Spalletti has been appointed the new coach
of the Serie A side.
He replaces Frenchman Rudi Garcia, who was sacked on
Wednesday following a disappointing run of form.
It is Spalletti's second stint at the three-time Italian
champions after his run in charge from 2005 to 2009.
"I'm excited because I know what the merits of this city,
this club and this team are," he said.
Rome won the Italian Cup in 2007 and 2008 under the
attack-minded Spalletti and he led Roma to consecutive Champions
League quarter-finals, where they were knocked out both times by
Manchester United.
The Giallorossi also ran Inter Milan close for the 2007
and 2008 scudettos.
After Roma, the former midfielder had a successful stint
at Zenit Saint Petersburg, leading them to two Russian league
titles, a Russian Cup and a Russian Super Cup between 2009 and
2014.
Roma are trailing Serie A leaders Napoli by seven points
in fifth place at the season's half-way stage after Saturday's
1-1 draw with fellow strugglers AC Milan.
They managed to creep into the last 16 of the Champions
League under Garcia despite a 6-1 thrashing by Barcelona in the
group stage, but they are out of the Italian Cup after being
ousted by second-tier Spezia.
Garcia, who led Lille to the French title in 2011, got off
to a great start on the Roma bench in the 2013-14 season, when
they pushed Juventus hard for the Serie A title.
But they lost their way in the second half of last season,
while still managing to finish second, and also suffered the
humiliation of losing 7-1 to Bayern Munich in the Champions
League.
"We have no choice this year. You can see there are teams
playing good football in the league. We have a good side and we
have to play good football if we want to be on a par with the
others," Spalletti said in an interview with Roma's website.
"We've made progress on the European stage, where lots of
teams start with the ball at the back, stay compact, know how to
play the offside trap and press you high up the pitch.
"The squad we have here can do that and they showed they
can with Garcia. That's what I'm aiming for: a team that plays
good football".
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