Valencia appoint Prandelli

Valencia have appointed former Italy boss Cesare Prandelli as their new head coach on a deal that runs until June 2018.

The appointment of the 59-year-old – who has been without a club since he was sacked by Galatasaray in November 2014 – was confirmed in a statement on Saturday.

Prandelli will take a watching brief as Los Che host Atletico Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday before formally taking charge and meeting the media on Monday.

The Italian is the club’s eighth head coach in a little over four years as Valencia have struggled to recapture the consistency they enjoyed in the previous four seasons under Unai Emery, which yielded three successive third-place finishes.

Having lost their opening four games of the season under Pako Ayestaran, caretaker Voro has steadied the ship with successive wins over newly promoted duo Alaves and Leganes.

Voro backed Prandelli’s arrival when discussing the Italian’s potential arrival before confirmation came.

He said in his pre-match news conference: “Prandelli is a fine coach who has worked at the highest level and led his national team.

“I do not know him personally, but he is a great coach.”