‘Means everything to me’, Ranieri emotional as he leads Cagliari back to Serie A

Former Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri, experienced a heartfelt moment as he couldn’t contain his emotions after guiding Cagliari to promotion in Italy’s Serie A in a thrilling manner.

Leonardo Pavoletti’s late goal in the 94th minute secured a 2-1 aggregate victory over Bari in the play-off finals at Stadio San Nicola on Sunday.

The 71-year-old Ranieri returned to Cagliari for his second stint as manager in January 2023. His first spell in charge, from 1988 to 1991, saw him lead the team to successive promotions from Serie C to Serie A.

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After taking over from Fabio Liverani on January 1st, with the club sitting in ninth place, Ranieri steered Cagliari to a remarkable run of form. They lost only two out of 19 Serie B matches, finishing the season in fifth position.

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Cagliari’s journey to promotion involved victories over Venezia and Parma before the decisive triumph over Bari, allowing them to make an immediate return to Serie A.

“Cagliari means everything to me,” Ranieri told DAZN.

“My feeling for this shirt is authentic. I remember when I won the Premier League [with Leicester], I immediately thought about the Rossoblu colours.

“I will always be grateful to those who brought me back to Sardinia. And I want to think about our fans, our people, not only those who come to the stadium – and we have a small stadium – but to all those who have supported us until the end in recent weeks.

“Having given joy to such a passionate group of supporters makes me so proud.“