Luciano Spalletti, 56, takes charge of the Giallorossi for the second time in his career. The Tuscan coach won 122 games in his first spell with Roma, putting him second on the all-time list behind Nils Liedholm (442).

Spalletti spent much of his playing career in Italy’s third tier, turning out for Entella, Spezia, Viareggio and Empoli, where he would begin his coaching career in Serie C in 1994, aged just 35. The coach burst onto the scene by securing back-to-back promotions with the Azzurri, leading them into Serie A and keeping them up in their first season in the top flight.

Spalletti experienced highs and lows as boss of Sampdoria, Venezia and Ancona in Serie A, before taking over at Udinese in 2002-03 (he had previously guided the Bianconeri to safety during a brief spell in 2001). With Spalletti in the dugout, the side from Friuli enjoyed three successful campaigns, qualifying twice for the UEFA Cup and once for the Champions League.

In the summer of 2005, the Tuscan tactician made further strides in his career, joining AS Roma. He endured a tough start to life in the capital, before embarking on an 11-game winning run, which included a 2-0 derby victory over Lazio. That sequence – a Serie A record at the time – saw the Giallorossi climb the table, eventually finishing second in the year following the Calciopoli sanctions.

Roma would also finish as runners-up in the two following seasons, narrowly missing out on the 2007-08 Scudetto, as they came up three points shy of champions Inter.

Nevertheless, the Giallorossi did secure silverware under Spalletti, winning the Coppa Italia in 2006-07 and 2007-08, along with the 2007 Italian Super Cup. All three trophies came at the expense of Inter, their main rivals at that time. Spalletti led Roma three times in the Champions League, twice reaching the quarter-finals and once making the last-16.

On 1 September 2009, Spalletti resigned following defeats in the club’s first two league games of the season. In December of the same year, he joined Zenit Saint Petersburg where he would remain until March 2014. Spalletti’s stay in Russia featured two league titles, one Russian Cup and the domestic Super Cup.

On 14 January 2016, he returned to Roma to strengthen ties that were clearly never broken.