Former Chelsea manager Ranieri left his role at Parma last week after leading the club to Serie A safety and had been widely tipped to join Manchester City.

However, Juventus have beaten City to the punch and installed Ranieri as the successor to Didier Deschamps, who left the Turin-based club after leading them back to Serie A at the first attempt.

Juve last week clinched the Serie B title with a 2-0 win over Mantova to ensure an immediate return to the top flight just a year after they were relegated for match-fixing.

Deschamps and the club decided to "amicably separate" just hours after the triumph, which came courtesy of goals from David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved.

Juve promoted assistant coach Giancarlo Corradini to lead the first team until the end of the season.

Marcello Lippi was reportedly a front-runner for the Bianconeri hot-seat but the club turned to 'Tinkerman' Ranieri after failing in attempts to lure the Italian World Cup winning-coach out of retirement.

Ranieri will be presented to the media later on Monday but a statement on the Juve website outlined their delight at having snared the 55-year-old.

It read: "Claudio Ranieri has signed a contract which will see him tied to the club from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010.

"For Juventus, this is the best possible choice to achieve the aims set out by the club's tradition.

"Ranieri is a man of great experience and international vision. He is able to carry out the sporting project approved by the administrative council."

The Rome-born tactician started his managerial career with Pozzuoli-based Campania in 1987 before making his name with Cagliari by getting the club promoted to the top flight.

After further spells in his homeland with Napoli and Fiorentina, Ranieri tried his luck in Spain and enjoyed a two-year stint at the Valencia helm during which time he won the 1997 Copa del Rey and guided the club into the Champions League.

A brief period at Atletico Madrid followed before Ranieri headed to England to join Chelsea in 2000.

Heavily backed in the transfer market at Stamford Bridge, particularly after the 2003 arrival of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, Ranieri ultimately failed to deliver on the pitch and was replaced by Jose Mourinho in May 2004.

Ranieri was out of work for just over a week before returning to Valencia, although his three-year contract with Los Che proved insignificant when he was sacked the following February with the club in sixth spot and out of the Champions League.

He took up the reins at Parma in February 2007 after two years out of work, and successfully helped the club retain their top-flight status.

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