In 1993, he joined Fiorentina, and immediately led them to Serie A promotion, also winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1996, before moving to Spain in 1997, to manage Valencia and then Atlético Madrid.

After substantial investment in the squad by new Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in the summer of 2003, Ranieri led the team to finish runners-up in 2004 and reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-final the same season.

This was followed by a foray into international management with the Greece national team, but he was dismissed less than four months later after a 1–0 home defeat against the Faroe Islands in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.

"[8][9] Ranieri first signed as a professional football player with Roma, though in his two seasons with the club he only made six appearances; he also had a one-month loan spell with Siracusa.

[19][20] He subsequently had success in Serie A, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 1996,[19][20] and along with the offensive talents of Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa and Francesco Baiano, he helped the club to go on a 15-match unbeaten run during the 1995–96 Serie A season, which saw the team hold second place for several months behind league leaders Milan; Fiorentina lost five of their last nine league games, however, and eventually finished the season in fourth place.

[11][20] After his first spell, Ranieri left the club in 1999 a popular man, and has been credited for putting Valencia on the track to subsequent success in the Champions League and La Liga, despite initially sitting in the lower half of the table upon his arrival.

Under Ranieri, Valencia were known for their efficiency and defensive solidity in his tactically rigorous 4–4–2 formation, as well as their use of high pressing to win back possession, and their ability to score from counter-attacks.

[22] Ranieri had a talented squad at his disposal containing such players as Jose Molina, Joan Capdevila, Ruben Baraja, Santiago Solari, Kiko, Juan Carlos Valeron and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Ranieri had been instructed to reduce the average age of the squad, and worked to rebuild Chelsea in the summer of 2001, creating a brand new midfield by signing Frank Lampard from West Ham United, Emmanuel Petit and Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona and Jesper Grønkjær from Ajax.

Ranieri's achievement, coming after a close season where the club was in a difficult financial situation and the only arrival was Enrique de Lucas from Espanyol on a free transfer, was greatly appreciated by fans and the media alike.

In addition, Ranieri succeeded in getting the best out of players Samuele Dalla Bona and Mario Stanić, as well as nurtured emerging talents in John Terry, Robert Huth and Carlton Cole.

These signings included Irish winger Damien Duff for a then club record £17 million; English youngsters Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole and Glen Johnson; Argentine pair Juan Sebastián Verón and Hernán Crespo; Frenchman Claude Makélélé; and Romanian star Adrian Mutu.

[citation needed] On 31 May 2004, after almost one year of speculation, which included the club's well-publicized courting of Eriksson, he was finally relieved of his coaching duties at Chelsea, and his job went to José Mourinho, who had led Porto to successive European triumphs.

[30] Ranieri took over after Rafael Benítez, who had led Valencia to the UEFA Cup and La Liga double the previous season, resigned and then promptly joined Liverpool.

Apart from the unpopularity of his four Italian signings, Ranieri was criticised for not playing Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar and for persistent changes to formations and tactics, something resembling his Chelsea days.

[20] On 1 September 2009, Ranieri was signed as the new manager of Roma on a two-year contract, succeeding Luciano Spalletti, who had resigned that day after opening the 2009–10 Serie A season with two defeats.

Under his guidance, Roma dramatically improved their performances and thrust themselves into the championship battle, reducing the gap between themselves and leaders Inter to only one point after Ranieri's team defeated Mourinho's Nerazzurri on matchday 31.

Ranieri was hailed by the press for substituting local heroes Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi during half-time, while Roma was losing 1–0; the Giallorossi then won the match 2–1 after two second-half goals from Mirko Vučinić.

[53][54] Following Roma's 1–0 defeat in the Coppa Italia final, Inter boss Mourinho publicly mocked Ranieri, as he had reportedly showed his team the film Gladiator before the match, in order to motivate his players.

A run of seven consecutive Serie A wins in December 2011 and January 2012, including a 1–0 victory over cross-city rivals Milan, suddenly had them talking of challenging for the title.

[64] Thereafter, Inter suffered a poor run of results (which also saw the departure of Thiago Motta to Paris Saint-Germain) and their Champions League hopes were hanging by a thread after being beaten by Marseille 1–0 in the round of 16 first leg match.

[74] His appointment was initially met with scepticism; Marcus Christenson of The Guardian called it "baffling", given Ranieri's frequent recent dismissals and Greece's loss to the Faroe Islands.

Christenson highlighted that Ranieri's good humour would be the antithesis to the short-tempered outbursts of his predecessor Nigel Pearson, concluding: "If Leicester wanted someone nice, they've got him.

[76] Following Leicester's first clean sheet of the 2015–16 Premier League season, which came in the club's tenth fixture, in a 1–0 home win against Crystal Palace on 24 October, Ranieri attracted further media attention when he rewarded his players by taking the team out for pizza and having champagne.

[85] Despite pressure from the chasing teams, Leicester maintained their lead at the top of the table throughout April and entered May knowing they only needed three points to lift the Premier League trophy.

Carlo Cudicini, an Italian goalkeeper who played for Chelsea under Ranieri, presented him with a special award on behalf of the club, as Leicester finished the season with a 1–1 away draw.

Pundits opined that the team was unable to foster the same mentality that won them the title the previous season, and that N'Golo Kanté's departure to Chelsea, Vardy's goal drought, Leicester's opponents' different tactical approaches and the additional commitment of playing in the Champions League were the reasons for the club's sudden drop in form.

Despite their struggles in the league, however, the start to the club's first ever Champions League campaign was more successful: Leicester won their first three matches, while also keeping four consecutive clean sheets; following a 2–1 win over Club Brugge on 22 November, Leicester managed to top their group with 13 points and qualify for the knock-out round unbeaten with one match to spare, ahead of Porto and Copenhagen.

[135] He made his final club appearance as coach on 23 May, in a 3–2 home defeat to Fiorentina, on the last day of the Serie A season; he was given a standing ovation by the crowd before the match.

[82] Throughout his career, Ranieri has also drawn criticism for over-rotating his squad and modifying his tactics and formations excessively throughout the course of a season, which earned him the nickname "The Tinkerman" in the British media.