Valencia have reached an agreement with former Italy manager, Cesare Prandelli, to take over the struggling side according to report in the Italian media as well as Spanish newspaper AS. Reports have further stated that the Italian will be offered a two-year deal.
Valencia, have been struggling in the league since last season and Pako Ayestaran was the eighth manager to be dismissed in the past 4 years. Ayestaran was dismissed less than six months into his role after a disastrous start saw the side drop to the bottom of the league with four defeats from four games. However, that hasn’t deterred the Italian from accepting the current role.
Valencia won last weekend against Leganes with goals from Nani and Mata Mario Suarez. However they had keeper Diego Alves to thank after he saved a penalty to maintain the lead, which gave Valencia their first league win this season.
Also Read: La Liga 2016/17: Why 'fan favourite' Pako Ayestaran only has himself to blame for Valencia sacking
The Italian is expected to take over the side on Monday, which means that caretaker boss, Voro will be in charge of the side when they welcome Atletico Madrid to the Mestalla on Sunday.
Valencia have had a tumultuous summer in which they saw the departure of their influential players, including club captain Paco Alcacer’s move to Barcelona. Alongside Andre Gomes and Shkodran Mustafi who left for Barcelona and Arsenal respectively, a host of other players such as Sofiane Feghouli and Antonio Barragan were also a loss for the club.
Valencia have brought in players as well, such as centre backs Ezequiel Garay and Eliaquim Mangala in addition to the likes of Nani and Martin Montaya. The team though needs time to gel if they are to get out of the relegation zone and Peter Lim, the current owner has identified the Italian, Cesare Prandelli as the right man for the job.
Prandelli’s career
The 59-year-old retired from playing in the year 1990 having represented Italian clubs such as Juventus and Atalanta. In his playing days, he made over 323 appearances scoring 17 goals in the process.
On retirement, he stepped into coaching with Atalanta where he managed the youth side initially, before being appointed as a caretaker for 7 months for the first team. Over the years, though he made a name for his management style with teams such as Parma, Roma and Fiorentina.
When Marcello Lippi stepped down from his role as the national team coach after guiding Italy to the World Cup 2010, the Italian Football Federation chose to put their faith in Prandelli. Although, he guided Italy to the Euro 2012 final, his reputation was affected in the subsequent World Cup in 2014, where Italy failed to make it out of the Group Stages.
