By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) - Leicester City named Italian Claudio Ranieri as manager on Monday as the popular former Chelsea boss returns to the Premier League 11 years after leaving Stamford Bridge.
Leicester escaped relegation last season on the back of an amazing late turnaround in form but manager Nigel Pearson (LONDON:PSON) was sacked two weeks ago after an internal fallout.
Ranieri, 63, has a remarkable CV, having also managed Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Valencia, Juventus, AS Roma, Inter Milan and Monaco before taking over the Greek national team -- then being sacked last November following defeat by the Faroe Islands.
"I'm so glad to be here in a club with such a great tradition," Ranieri said in a statement on the club's website.
"I have worked at many great clubs in many top leagues but since I left Chelsea I have dreamt of another chance to work in the best league in the world again."
Leicester vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: "It is my great pleasure to welcome a man of remarkable experience and knowledge who will lead us into the next phase of our long-term plan for Leicester City.
"His achievements in the game, his knowledge of English football and his record of successfully coaching some of the world's finest players made him the outstanding candidate for the job and his ambitions for the future reflect our own.
"To have attracted one of the world's elite managers speaks volumes both for the progress Leicester City has made in recent years and for the potential that remains for the club's long-term development."
