Giampiero Ventura named as next Italy coach

Giampiero Ventura, a 68-year-old who has never won a major title, was named on Tuesday as the next Italy coach to replace Antonio Conte after Euro 2016.

Ventura's appointment, which had been widely expected, was confirmed on the Italian national team's Twitter feed. Conte is leaving the job after the European Championship to take over at English Premier League club Chelsea. Ventura has enjoyed a long, steady coaching career in Italy although, apart from one season at Napoli, he has never worked at any of the biggest clubs such as Inter Milan, AC Milan or Juventus.

The clubs he has coached include Sampdoria, Lecce, Cagliari, Venezia, Pisa, Bari, Verona, Messina, Udinese and Spezia. He has never won Serie A or the Coppa Italia, although he led Lecce to the third tier Serie C title in 1996. However, he has gained respect following a five-year spell with Torino when he led them out of Serie B and to several respectable finishes in the middle and upper half of Serie A. He quit Torino by mutual agreement at the end of this season.




















(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond)


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