Ranieri returns to Premier League as Watford manager
Claudio Ranieri is back in the Premier League.
The well-traveled Italian, who defied 5,000-1 odds by winning the league with Leicester City in 2016, was appointed Watford manager on a two-year contract Monday, replacing Xisco Munoz.
Ranieri also managed Chelsea from 2000-04 and Fulham for a little over three months during the 2018-19 Premier League season.
Watford will be the 18th different club Ranieri has coached. The 69-year-old most recently managed Sampdoria, leading them to ninth in Serie A before leaving at the end of last season.
With just two wins from seven matches, the Hornets currently sit in 15th place in the Premier League with seven goals scored and 10 conceded.
After firing Munoz on Sunday, the club said its recent results "strongly indicate a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving."
Watford have hired 15 different managers since Gino Pozzo and his family acquired the team in June 2012.
Ranieri's first match in charge will come against league-leading Liverpool on Oct. 16. On Nov. 28, he'll travel back to Leicester as an opposing manager for the first time since leading the Foxes during that fairytale 2015-16 campaign.