MILAN (AP) - New coach Luciano Spalletti is on a mission to return Inter Milan to the elite of European football.
Inter announced Friday that Spalletti has signed a two-year contract to coach the three-time European champions.
“We’ve got to bring the results back in line with the history of our club,” said Spalletti, who had revealed his move to Inter on Tuesday.
Inter has not won a trophy since taking the Club World Cup title in 2011, a year after achieving a treble highlighted by the Champions League title under then-coach Jose Mourinho.
Spalletti becomes Inter’s fifth coach in less than a year. He spent the last season and a half at Roma.
The announcement comes after Spalletti flew to China to meet directors of the Suning retail group, which purchased a majority stake in Inter a year ago.
“I was made aware of the ownership’s enthusiasm. They want to move things forward right away,” Spalletti said.
While financial details were not announced, the deal is reportedly worth 4 million euros ($4.5 million) per season.
The move was widely expected considering Spalletti’s relationship with Inter technical coordinator Walter Sabatini, who also recently joined from Roma.
Inter has been in a downward spiral since Roberto Mancini resigned suddenly last August. Mancini was replaced by Frank de Boer, who lasted until November. Stefano Pioli guided the club until early May, when he was fired toward the end of an eight-match winless streak.
Youth coach Stefano Vecchi coached Inter for one match after De Boer’s firing, and then again for the final three games of the Serie A season after Pioli was fired.
Inter finished seventh in the Italian league last month, missing out on a Europa League spot.
Besides two spells at Roma, the 58-year-old Spalletti has also coached Empoli, Sampdoria, Venezia, Udinese, Ancona and Zenit St. Petersburg.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.