Ferrara named new Sampdoria coach
Reuters - Monday 02 July 2012, 19:44
Italy Under-21 coach Ciro Ferrara
will be the new Sampdoria manager next season, the Serie A club
said on Monday.
Speculation had grown in the Italian media that Ferrara, a
former Napoli and Juventus defender, was favourite to take the
job after former Liverpool and Inter Milan coach Rafa Benitez
turned down an offer from the newly promoted Genoa club.
"The news has been in the air for hours, and now it is
official: Ciro Ferrara will be the new coach of Sampdoria," the
club announced on their official website.
"The agreement with the coach will be ratified over the next
few days."
Capped 49 times for Italy, Ferrara won the Serie A title
seven times as player, twice with Napoli and five times with
Juventus, where he also won the Champions League.
Having been part of the technical staff for the Italian
national team, he endured a tough time in charge of Juventus and
was sacked after less than a season in charge in 2010.
Since then, he's enjoyed an impressive run with the Italy
Under-21 side, unbeaten in qualifiers for the 2013 European
Under-21 Championship.
Ferrara, 45, will replace Giuseppe Iachini, who arrived at
the club in November 2011 and led them back up to Serie A after
one season, via the play-offs.