Premier League: Claudio Ranieri is Watford’s 14th coach since the Pozzo family ran the club

Recently released Xisco Munoz has worked at the club for ten months. He managed to win promotion to the Premier League, but the Watford referees soon forgot about it. It was enough for the team to start the new season unconvincingly (although 15th place in the table can hardly be considered a disaster) to treat it as a wonderful excuse to break up. He is succeeded by Claudio Ranieri, who will have this fourth job in the Premier League, after Chelsea, Leicester and Fulham.

The Italian entered the history of the league forever after winning the exciting National Championship against Leicester in 2016. The team was supposed to defend itself against relegation, but at the same time reached the title, although the possibility of such an event was estimated by the makers Betting 5000 to 1. The 70-year-old returned to England in November 2018 to save Fulham. From the landing, but at Craven Cottage the Italian magic stopped working. Ranieri was fired after three months in which the Cottags won just three of their 17 games (and eventually withdrew from the league).

So Ranieri is back to rebuild his reputation. He signed a two-year contract with Watford, although whether he will be able to complete it remains a matter of debate. – In Italy, frequent change of coaches is normal. In England, the approach is different, but here, too, such a change is happening more and more – Ranieri defends his compatriots, who have already received an offer from the Pozzo family in the past. It was in Udinese, which they also controlled, but then the coach decided not to do the job.

Ranieri will turn 70 next week, but he doesn’t feel retired. – I’m bored without football. I love football and I want to enjoy it for as long as possible. I can still feel the emotions and energy I can pass on to the players – the Italian, who wants to score in Premier League history, has been declared the oldest coach in the league. A few months ago, four-year-old Roy Hodgson retired, and the new Watford boss does not rule out that he will override the 74-year-old’s achievement. “My brain still feels young, so why not?” – He says. So far, only four coaches have worked in the Premier League after the age of 70. In addition to Hodgson, these are Sir Alex Ferguson, Neil Warnock and Sir Bobby Robson.

Watford owners expect Ranieri to do what the Italian did at Sampdoria Genoa, his last team – to stabilize the bottom of the top flight. If the Italian fails, he knows exactly what awaits him. And there is not much time.