Custard brand manufacturer, Checkers Africa Limited, has promised to continue to encourage talent hunt for footballers among its employees and members of the public.
The firm’s Managing Director, Mr Karan Checker, according to a statement on Thursday, made the commitment at the 2022 edition of the company’s one-day football tourney tagged Checkers Custard Football Cup, recently.
With the maiden edition held in 2021, Checker said it became evident that the football competition, among other activities, was a panacea for employees’ bonding, good health and general wellness.
He said the competition not only induced more beneficial interaction among the workforce, but also helped promote quality work environment for better output.
Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has stated that his wait for a league title in his professional career took 17 years.
Ighalo won the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal on Monday night finishing as the league’s highest goal scorer with 24 goals.
Expressing his gratitude for winning his first league title, the former Manchester United striker took to his Instagram page to share the win with words of encouragement.
“I waited 17 years before winning my first league title, it doesn’t matter how long it takes, if you keep working hard and never give up, you will get it right one day. God is the greatest,” he wrote.
Ighalo, who started his professional career with defunct Julius Berger FC, Lagos, has played club football in six countries across Europe and Asia without winning a league title.
The former Watford star has, however, won the highest goal scorer award at different clubs he had played.
Romelu Lukaku said he was “very happy” to be back after the Belgian international striker arrived in Milan on Wednesday ahead of his return to Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea.
A beaming Lukaku emerged from Linate airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning and gave his short but delighted response to the handful of reporters awaiting his arrival.
The 29-year-old will undergo a medical later in the day before making his long-awaited Inter comeback official.
Chelsea agreed to a reported deal in which Inter will pay an initial €8 million plus a further potential three million euros in bonuses for the loan.
Lukaku will again lead Inter’s attack as they attempt to regain the Serie A title after taking a pay cut — a reported 8.5 million euros for the coming campaign.
Lukaku leaves London after failing to make an impression for a second time at Chelsea, not meeting high expectations following a £97.5 million move from Inter last summer.
He had made himself a fan favourite over two years at Inter after scoring 64 times in 95 games and driving them to their first Serie A title in over a decade, the 2021 Scudetto ending both an 11-year drought and Juventus’ grip on Italian football.
However, the financial problems of Inter’s owners the Suning Group, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic led to coach Antonio Conte leaving the club almost as soon as the title was won.
He claimed the cost-cutting required by Inter would have prevented him from building the team he wanted to challenge domestically and in Europe.
Lukaku followed Conte out the door after then European champions Chelsea offered a whopping sum which eased some of Inter’s financial issues and started well on his return to Stamford Bridge.
Coach Thomas Tuchel said “he was the type of guy we were missing” after he netted four times in his first four games, but his next goal didn’t come until early December and injury, Covid-19 and poor form kept him out of the team.
He then infuriated Chelsea fans by conducting an interview with Sky Sport Italia in which he expressed his unhappiness and said he had Inter in his heart and wanted to return.
Those comments also led Inter’s hardcore ultras to say they weren’t interested in having him back, considering his move to Chelsea a betrayal of his claim to love the Milanese club.
They told other fans not to arrive en masse to welcome Lukaku back as he is now “just one of many” after previously being “treated like a king” by supporters.
Lukaku will be critical to coach Simone Inzaghi’s bid to snatch back the league crown from AC Milan after they finished two points behind their local rivals last term.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has apologised to “everyone who suffered from bad management” at the 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League final match in Paris.
However, the 39-year-old, who had previously made outlandish claims about the number of counterfeit tickets in circulation at the Stade de France, stopped short of saying sorry to the Liverpool fans.
He had blamed them for the problems on the night of the club’s defeat to Real Madrid.
“Should the Stade de France have been better managed? The answer is `yes’,” he said, following the incidence of supporters being locked out and then tear-gassed after serious congestion problems developed.
“Am I partly responsible? The answer is `yes’. Of course, I readily apologise to everyone who suffered from this bad management of the event.”
After the match, supporters complained of being robbed by local gangs, with the police offering no protection.
The police had earlier employed heavy-handed methods in an attempt to deal with the growing crowd issue.
Darmanin said they had learned from that and France’s two recent UEFA Nations League matches and the Top 14 rugby final at the stadium all passed off without any major incident.
“It profoundly changed the organisation of the police headquarters,” he added.
“I changed the organisation to fight against delinquency because, if there was something that went wrong at the Stade de France, it was the fight against delinquency.”
Earlier this month the interior minister apologised to a French Senate committee hearing for “the disproportionate use of tear gas”.
But his claims that 35,000 and 40,000 supporters without tickets or fake tickets were present around the Stade de France were debunked by a UEFA official.
The official had said UEFA’s count of counterfeits was closer to 2,600.
Chelsea legend, Petr Cech will leave his role as Technical and Performance Advisor at the club on June 30.
Cech is the latest to leave the club following the Todd Boehly-Clearlake takeover after the departures of chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia.
Cech said: “It has been a huge privilege to perform this role at Chelsea for the past three years. With the club under new ownership, I feel now is the right time for me to step aside. I am pleased that the club is now in an excellent position with the new owners, and I am confident of its future success both on and off the pitch.”
Todd Boehly, chairman and co-controlling owner, said: “Petr is an important member of the Chelsea family. We understand his decision to step away and thank him for his contributions as an advisor and his commitment to the club and to our community. We wish him the best.”
Cech was appointed three years ago to provide advice and guidance on all football and performance matters at Chelsea having played 333 times for the club.
However, according to The Telegraph, part of Cech’s decision to leave his role at Chelsea was based on how much his influence had been diluted under the new ownership.
He reportedly disagreed with Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly over his decision to loan Romelu Lukaku back to Inter prior to leaving.
Cech had acted as a go-between for Chelsea managers and director Marina Granovskaia, playing an instrumental role in a number of transfer and football decisions, notably recommending the signing of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
With Granovskaia’s departure last week, Boehly has taken on the role of ‘interim sporting director’, with both the American and manager Thomas Tuchel now in charge of transfer decisions with Cech sidelined.
Outgoing Manchester United player, Paul Pogba has agreed to join Juventus.
The French midfielder joined Manchester United in 2016 for a then record £80m but failed to live up to expectations after 6 years at the club marred with controversies, injuries and talks of discontentment within his camp.
Pogba is a free agent after his contract with Manchester United was allowed to run down and expires on June 30.
Sky Sport Italia say Paul Pogba will have his Juventus medical in the first week of July and his agent is set to finalize the details today Thursday June 23 .
According to Sky Sports’ Italian reporter, Gianluca Di Marzio, Pogba is expected in Turin for his tests some time between July 5 to July 8.
“Thursday is going to be decisive for the final details of the contract, as agent and lawyer Rafaela Pimenta will meet with the Bianconeri directors to write out the paperwork.”
“It seems there is only one real issue remaining, whether the contract is for four years or for three with an option to extend for a fourth.”
Pogba’s move is a return to the Allianz Juventus Stadium for the France international, who already wore the Juventus jersey from 2012 to 2016 until his transfer to Manchester United.
Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool in a deal worth up to £35m, ending his six-year stay on Merseyside.
The 30-year-old Senegalese striker on Wednesday, June 22, signed a three-year contract worth £ 250,000 a week at the Allianz Arena, until 2025.
Bayern will pay Liverpool an initial £27.5m with a further £5m based on appearances, and will pay another £2.5m based on individual and team achievements.
Speaking for the first time as a Bayern player, Mane said: ‘I’m very happy to finally be with FC Bayern in Munich.
Sadio Mane
‘We had a lot of talks and I felt the great interest of this big club from the start. So there was no doubt in my mind right from the start.
‘This is the right time for this challenge. I want to achieve a lot with this club.’
The Senegal star, who arrived at Anfield from Southampton in 2016 for £34m, played his last match for the Reds in the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid.
In a farewell interview with Liverpool, Mane added: ‘Obviously it is strange – really, really strange – to no longer be a Liverpool player after six years spent at Anfield.
‘But of course I had a great time, an unbelievable time, and since my first day I really, really enjoyed training, playing, at Anfield especially and in front of these amazing supporters. Now it’s come to the end, so what can you say?
‘I think whoever is leaving Liverpool, with those supporters you will always miss them because so far [they are] the best in the world and I have always said it.
‘I would love one day to come back to Anfield to say hi to them and of course to watch Liverpool playing because for me, I am going to be Liverpool’s No.1 fan – after the supporters!’.
When asked about the prospect of returning to Anfield in the Champions League, he said: ‘You know the Champions League and how the draw always goes on, it can happen for sure and if it happens it happens.
‘It is football and of course I have to come and I have to play. But like I said, Liverpool is Liverpool and we will see. We will see what is going to happen.’
There many Nigerian players that switched their international allegiance to different countries. Some is as a result of place of birth while others do it purposely. One of them is Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor. He is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
He represented the Togo national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In 2013, he returned to the Togo team for the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, where he helped them to qualify for the quarter-finals. He is currently Togo’s all-time top goal scorer with 32 goals.
In 2008, he was voted African Footballer of the Year while playing at Arsenal. During his latter career, he became the most iconic signing in Paraguayan football and the highest paid player in the country’s history when he joined Olimpia Asunción in 2020.
He was born in Lome to Nigerian parents who are Yoruba by tribe. He was also eligible to play for Nigeria but chose to represent the country of his birth, Togo.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) to immediately commence the process that will lead to elections into its executive committee at the expiration of the current administration in September.
Buhari also directed that the instrument of football administration in the country, the NFF Statutes, be amended to include other stakeholders, who had hitherto been disenfranchised or denied equal representation in the NFF congress.
In a letter addressed to NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, dated June 17, 2022 and signed by Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, Buhari, who reinforced the Federal Government’s support for football development in the country, urged the leadership of the NFF to ensure that the amended statutes reflect the national yearnings, aspirations and peculiarities of Nigeria as a sovereign nation, while aligning with the principles and objectives of football as set by the world soccer governing body, FIFA.
Meanwhile, a former chairman of the Gombe State Football Association, Alhaji Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has appealed to interested persons eyeing the NFF presidency in the September elections to exercise restraint.
About five aspirants, comprising one administrator and former Nigeria internationals, have so far indicated an interest in the NFF top job.
“I think it is rather too early for such declaration to be made by anyone yet. There is the issue of statute that has not been sorted while the NFF Congress will still have to seat and draw out the electoral guidelines as well as announce the election date,” he said.
According to Gara Gombe, “Whatever anyone is doing at this time with regard to the election is hasty and it cannot amount to anything tangible at least for now.”
There are reports that the former Gombe FA chairman has been encouraged by some football stakeholders, including politicians, civil servants, diplomats, and key figures in Corporate Nigeria to declare interest in the NFF top job.
Former Real Madrid right-back, Cicinho has revealed he used to turn up for training drunk while suffering from alcoholism.
Cicinho spent two years at the Bernabeu after completing a move from Brazilian side Sao Paulo in 2005, featuring 32 times for Real and collecting a La Liga winners’ medal in 2007.
In an interview with EPTV show Ressaca, via Goal, the ex-Brazil spoke candidly about his struggle with alcoholism over the past decade. He also recalled arriving for training during his time in Madrid while intoxicated.
‘If you ask me if I’ve ever been to training drunk at Real: yes. And I drank coffee to remove the smell from my breath and bathed in perfume.’
‘Speaking of my profession, as a former professional football player, it was easy, I didn’t need money to get [drink]. People were happy to give you everything in restaurants.’
He departed for Roma that summer after falling out of favour under new boss Bernd Schuster due to his problems off the pitch. At Roma, his battle with alcoholism continued.
The 41-year-old admits he also attended training with Giallorossi drunk, although club officials were quicker to notice this time around.
Speaking about his time in Rome, Cicinho said: ‘Started drinking after training. I did the physiotherapy work, came home around 2 p.m., 2.30 p.m., and only stopped drinking at 4 a.m.
‘Every time I arrived at Roma drunk, the leaders saw it and that made me fall into disrepute.’
Cicinho, who spent five years with Roma before later enjoying stints in Turkey and back in Brazil, first starting drinking as a teenager and soon found himself on a slippery slope.
‘At 13 years old, when I tasted alcohol for the first time, I never stopped,’ he said.
‘I lived in the countryside, in Pradopolis, close to Ribeirao Preto, and on weekends we gathered friends and used to go out in the squares, to the clubs.
‘There was a bar nearby, because I was a minor, I tried to hide it, I asked whoever was older to buy it and I kept drinking hidden from my parents, the police.’
Antonio Rudiger has been officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player after leaving Chelsea.
The German centre-back agreed on a four-year deal at the Bernabeu after leaving the Blues at the end of his contract.
Earlier in the day, the 29-year-old completed his medical at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital.
It has been revealed that Rudiger will wear number 22 at Real Madrid, which is newly vacant following Isco’s departure this summer.
‘It’s a very special day for all of us, but especially for me,’ the defender told reporters at his unveiling.
‘I would like to thank my parents, because without them I could not be here. They have always supported me and that throughout my life has been very very important.
‘I also want to thank the president of Real Madrid for giving me the opportunity to play for this great club. I can promise you that I will give everything for this club. I want to win as many titles as we can. Hala Madrid and nothing else!’
Rudiger also confirmed that Barcelona showed an interest in signing him, but he told his brother, who is his agent and advisor, that it was ‘Real Madrid or nothing’.
The club’s president Florentino Perez added: ‘Today one of the best defenders in the world arrives at Real Madrid. Antonio, from now on you are part of a unique club and family.
‘We are very excited to have a player like you who has done everything possible to make this day come.
‘Your career allowed you to choose between the big clubs and you have chosen for this shield, that will give you the strength to achieve what others believe is impossible.’
Rudiger’s contract with the LaLiga side will be worth in the region of £315,000-per-week and he will also net a hefty signing-on fee.
France international Kylian Mbappe on Sunday accused the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) of ignoring racist abuse after his penalty miss at Euro 2020.
The Paris Saint-Germain star’s decisive spot-kick against Switzerland was saved in the last-16 shootout, resulting in the world champions exiting the tournament.
The 23-year-old was vilified on social media by furious fans, and even considered quitting the national team as a result.
In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, FFF president Noel Le Graet spoke of the lack of support Mbappe had felt after the Euro elimination.
Le Graet said “he (Mbappe) considered that the federation had not defended him after his missed penalty and the criticism on social media networks”.
“We saw seen each other for five minutes in my office,” continued Le Graet, adding the striker “no longer wanted to play in the French team – which he obviously did not think”.
On Sunday, Mbappe responded on Twitter, regretting that Le Graet had not taken into account the “racism” of which he would have been a victim.
“Yes finally I explained to him (Le Graet) above all that it was in relation to racism, and NOT to the penalty,” Mbappe said.
“But he considered that there had been no racism…”
Le Graet had already come under fire last September after declaring that racism in football “does not exist or hardly exists”.
A few months before the Paris prosecutor’s office announced it was investigating racist messages towards certain French international players after the Euros.
On Saturday, FIFA published a report pointing to the increase in the number of insults against footballers on social media.
According to this study, 38 percent of them were racist in nature.
Premier League side, Arsenal are reportedly preparing to make a second offer for Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, to match the €100m (£86m) price tag, Napoli are asking for the 23-year-old.
This comes after Gunners’ first €60m bid was rejected by the Italian club on Monday, June 13.
According to Italian daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Arsenal are keen to sign the 23-year-old Nigeria international as a replacement for former skipper Alexandre Lacazette, who rejoined Lyon on a free this summer.
“Arsenal are gearing up to enter talks with Napoli for Osimhen and are keen to sign the €100m valued striker. Manchester United are also keen on a move but the Gunners hold the edge for the time being,” the report said.
“The deal could be concluded later this month, allowing Napoli to immediately reinvest the funds and carry out a decent transfer window.”
The striker, who scored 18 times and made six assists in 32 games last season, is also attracting interest from other top European clubs.
Former captain of the Russian football team, Igor Denisov, has criticized Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine describing it as a ‘catastrophic.’
The Russian parliament recently passed legislation that could see dissenters against the country’s military action jailed for up to 15 years.
But Denisov, 38, a former defensive midfielder who captained the Russian team between 2012 and 2016, shunned the new legislation to criticize the ongoing brutal conflict.
‘These events are catastrophic,’ Denisov told Nobel. ‘It’s horrific. I am not sure if I will be jailed or killed for these words, but I am speaking as it is.’
He added that he no longer feels any pride in his country and even wrote to President Putin asking for him to halt the war, which has seen thousands killed and millions more driven from their homes.
Denisov, who played for Russian clubs Zenit Saint Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow during his club career, was an influential player for the national team.
He played 54 times for Russia between 2008 and 2016, representing them at the 2012 European Championship and the 2014 World Cup.
Russia have been banned from playing in international competitions as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, with their club sides also banned from European competitions such as the Champions League.
Burnley have confirmed the appointment of former Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany as their new manager.
The defender left Belgian side Anderlecht last season and has now decided to take up the management job in the Championship after Burnley’s relegation from the top flight in 2021-22, and will be tasked with immediate promotion.
He replaces Sean Dyche, who has been axed in the last campaign, after spending10 years at Turf Moor.
Burnley announced Kompany’s arrival with a video showing a timeline of their previous managers dating back to 1894, before revealing Kompany as the new man in charge at the end of the clip.
After officially putting pen to paper with the Clarets, Kompany said his focus was forging a ‘winning team’ to ensure the club bounces back to the top flight, and create a new future after becoming something of a ‘yo-yo’ club in recent years.
‘Burnley Football Club is a truly historic English side and it is an honour to be appointed first-team manager,’ he said. ‘I’m excited by the challenge ahead.
‘I’m looking forward to getting to work with the players and creating a positive, winning team for our fans when we return to Turf Moor.
‘I’ve been impressed by the Board’s vision for the clu’b which aligns with my own and I look forward to playing my part as we enter an important season.’
Burnley chairman Alan Pace called Kompany a ‘proven leader’ after captaining Manchester City to four Premier League titles and said his work at Anderlecht had impressed many of Burnley’s board members.
‘We are absolutely delighted to welcome Vincent to Burnley Football Club,’ he added. ‘Vincent is a proven leader and I’ve been very impressed with his ideas for Burnley Football Club, his appetite to succeed and his focus on leading the Club back to the Premier League.
‘Vincent has shown impressive credentials in leading one of Belgium’s biggest teams back to European football and a Cup Final last season and we’ve been excited by his philosophy, approach and ambition for the Club.’
Kompany spent three years managing his boyhood club Anderlecht, where he first joined as player-manager after ending his decade-long spell at Man City.
He finished eighth in the Belgian Division A table during his first season before becoming a full-time boss. He came third in back-to-back seasons and finished off with a 45 percent win rate after 92 games, 42 wins, 32 draws, and 18 losses.
The Super Eagles were rutheless in their second fixture of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series as they thrashed Sao Tome 10 – 0, to give Nigeria their biggest win in history
The match went down at the Stade Adrar in Agadir, Morocco, on Monday afternoon, June, 13.
It was an easy game for the three-time African champions as Victor Osimhen grabbed four goals in the game.
The Napoli striker scored in the ninth, 48th, 65th and 84th minutes.This was his first hat-trick and haul for the senior team.
Moses Simon scored in the 28th minute, Moffi (43′, 60′), Oghenekaro Etebo (55′), Ademola Lookman (63′) and Emmanuel Dennis (90+2′).
Last week, Jose Peseiro’s men beat Sierra Leone 2-1 in Abuja to open their 2023 AFCON qualifier account.
Following the outcome of today’s game, the Super Eagles now top the Group A standings with six points followed by Guinea Bissau on three but with a game at hand.
Super Eagles coach is hopeful of upstaging Guinea Bissau at the top of Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, after their clash against island country Sao Tome and Principe on Monday (today).
The game comes up in Marrakech, Morocco after the Sao Tomeans couldn’t present a suitable home venue for the qualification series.
The Eagles beat a stubborn Sierra Leone side 2-1 in their first game of the qualifiers in Abuja on Thursday but are placed second on goals difference after Guinea Bissau hammered Sao Tome 5-1 in their opening tie in Marrakech.
Speaking ahead of the tie against the Sao Tomeans, Peseiro said with his side’s pedigree, they deserved to occupy the top spot in Group A and would do so with a convincing style against their less-fancied opponents today.
“Yes, we want to be at the top of the table, that is why we must fight hard against every opponent and we must commit ourselves fully to winning every match. Like I said last week, Nigeria have a huge pedigree with quality players. It’s very important that we select the best at all times to win the big games,” Peseiro said.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Thursday achieved a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone in a Day 1 encounter of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification series at the MKO Abiola Stadium on Thursday. The Leone Stars, who fought gallantly to come back from four goals down to tie the match 4-4 in an AFCON qualifier against Nigeria in Benin City in November 2021, showed they mean business as early as the 4th minute when a rasping shot from Mohamed Turay was tipped over the bar by Francis Uzoho. Two minutes later, a good pass by Aribo was followed by a teasing cross from Calvin Bassey but Victor Osimhen’s header failed to find the target. In the 10th minute, a brilliant pass from Sadiq Umar found Osimhen, whose shot drifted away. At the other end, just a minute after, Jonathan Morsay scored a stunning goal with a diving header from a beautiful cross by Musa Kamara.
Four minutes later, the advantage could have been stretched for the visitors when they hit the upright on another counter-attack. However, in the 16th minute, Nigeria were level when an exchange of passes between Alex Iwobi and Moses Simon ended with the former emphatically finding the far corner of goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara’s post. Three minutes later, Kamara saved a strong Moses Simon header, and in the 35th minute, Musa Kamara came close with a stinging grounder as the visitors swarmed forward once more. Four minutes before halftime, Osimhen scored Nigeria’s second when he drove the ball into the roof of the net from a Simon header off Ola Aina’s cross from the right. In the second half, the game flowed from one end to the other, but Nigeria should have made it 3-1 in the 58th minute when Iwobi ansd Osimhen carved open the visitors’ defence, only for Samuel Chukwueze to get too much purchase on his shot and drag it wide. Aribo, Osimhen and substitute Ademola Lookman all missed chances as Nigeria pushed for another goal, but in added time, it took Aribo’s last-second intervention to deny the Leone Stars. The Eagles pocket three points and are top of Group A, as they head to Agadir, Morocco for their Day 2 encounter against the ‘The Falcons and True Parrots’of São Tomé and Príncipe on Monday evening.
Liverpool have confirmed the departure of seven players, including striker Divock Origi, when their contracts expire at the end of this month.
Goalkeeper Loris Karius and former first-team players Sheyi Ojo and Ben Woodburn have also been released, along with three members of the club’s academy.
Origi spent eight years at Merseyside and sealed the Reds’ stunning second-leg comeback to sink Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2019.
Announcing the Belgian’s departure, Liverpool wrote, “Divock Origi will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of June.
“Thank you for an incredible eight years of service and leaving us with so many special memories. [Divock Origi], Liverpool legend.”
Karius became notorious for his error-strewn performance in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, and spent much of his subsequent Anfield career on loan.
Ojo made 13 senior appearances, scoring in the FA Cup win over Exeter.
Woodburn became the club’s youngest goalscorer — a title he still holds — when he scored in the League Cup match against Leeds United at the age of 17.
Gennaro Gattuso has been appointed as head coach of Valencia on a deal until June 2024.
The AC Milan legend replaces Jose Bordalas, who was dismissed just one season into a two-year contract.
This was after a campaign in which Valencia finished ninth and lost the Copa del Rey final to Real Betis.
Valencia said Gattuso “joins the club following an extensive career both as a player and as a coach.
“After hanging up the boots, he started his coaching career in 2012 with teams like AC Milan and SSC Napoli, with whom he won the Coppa Italia in 2020.”
Gattuso spent 18 months in charge of the Rossoneri after being appointed in November 2017.
They narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification by a solitary point during his one full season in charge.
He later took over Napoli, who he led to Coppa Italia glory in the 2019/2020 season.
But Gattuso departed a year later after again missing out on UEFA Champions League qualification.
The 44-year-old was appointed Fiorentina boss in May last year, only for the two parties to rescind that agreement a month later.
Gattuso has also had spells in charge of Sion, Palermo, OFI Crete and Pisa before re-joining AC Milan — initially with their Primavera side.
As a player, Gattuso won two Serie A titles and two UEFA Champions League medals during a glittering 13-year stay with AC Milan.
He was also a FIFA World Cup winner with Italy in 2006.
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