as the club's new head coach, with the Italian returning to
the capital after leaving to join Zenit in 2009.
The 56-year-old arrived at the club's training ground at
Trigoria on Thursday to complete his return, replacing
recently axed Rudi Garcia, and will take charge of his first
match against Verona on Sunday.
The Serie A outfit fired Garcia on Wednesday following their
poor run of form in recent months, as they dropped to fifth
place in the table after just one win in their last seven league
games.
Spalletti guided the side to two Coppa Italia titles and a
Supercoppa Italiana during his four year spell in charge
before joining Zenit where he won two Russian Premier
League titles, but he was fired in March 2014 and has since
been out of work.
But after almost two years without a club, he is back in the
Italian top flight, telling the club's official website: "I'm
excited because I know what the merits of this city, this club
and this team are. It's exciting to work with such worthy
people."
Roma president James Pallotta added: "We are very excited
to welcome Luciano Spalletti back to Roma. He is a proven
winner with a strong track record of success. We are
looking forward to working together to take Roma to where
we believe it should be."
Spalletti began his coaching career at Empoli in 1995,
leading the club he represented as a player from Serie C to
Serie A in successive seasons.
Along with helming Sampdoria, Venezia and Acona, he
enjoyed two spells at Udinese – leading them to Champions
League qualification in 2005 to pave the way for his first
Roma tenure.
Roma chief executive Italo Zanzi said: "We have so much to
play for this season, both in Italy and Europe. Luciano
Spalletti's arrival only adds to the confidence we have in our
players and team."
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