Juventus have appointed Antonio Conte as their new head coach on a two-year contract.
The 41-year-old former Juve and Italy midfielder, who won promotion to Serie A with Siena last season, will take up the reins of the Turin club on 1 July. He will succeed Luigi Delneri, whose departure was confirmed by I Bianconeri earlier today.
Conte joined Juve from Lecce in 1991 and spent 13 years with the club, winning five Serie A titles, the 1993 UEFA Cup, the 1995 Coppa Italia and the 1996 UEFA Champions League.
He admitted at his unveiling this afternoon that he had always wanted to return to the Stadio Olimpico. "I always wanted to go to Juve," he said. "It was my constant thought.
The main objective is to return to being contenders, in keeping with the history of Juve. We will do everything to take the club back to those levels.
Antonio Conte, new Juventus coach
"I thank director general [Giuseppe] Marotta and president [Andrea] Agnelli. For me, it's a homecoming.
"I should point out that arriving at a big club like Juve brings great satisfaction. I bring the principles of play, the ideas that have accompanied me on my journey.
"The main objective is to return to being contenders, in keeping with the history of Juve. We will do everything to take the club back to those levels."
Conte became assistant coach of Siena in 2005 after hanging up his boots. Spells at Arezzo, Bari and Atalanta followed before he returned to Siena to take up the post of coach 12 months ago.
Delneri decision announced
The news of Delneri's exit came as little surprise, with the 60-year-old having revealed ten days ago that his side's final game of the Serie A campaign would be his last at the helm.
The Old Lady made things official this morning by posting a statement on their website which read: "Juventus Football Club announces that Luigi Delneri will not be the manager for season 2011/2012.
"President Andrea Agnelli, the directors and the team would like to thank him for his hard work and wish him a successful professional future."
Juve had been challenging for the Scudetto at the midway stage of the campaign but a poor second half of the season saw them finish seventh in Serie A.
Delneri had said on 21 May: "Juventus will change coach. I was informed of this decision. I wish good luck to whoever will follow me but I do not know who he is."
Del Neri left his role at Sampdoria 12 months ago after leading the club to Champions League qualification. He was installed as Juve coach a few days later, signing a two-year contract to succeed Alberto Zaccheroni.