Claudio Ranieri leads Cagliari to promotion for the third time

 Claudio Ranieri was left in tears on Sunday night after guiding Cagliari to promotion for the third time in his managerial career.

After drawing the first leg of their playoff final 1-1 against Bari, the Italian side sealed their return to Serie A with a 91st minute winner on Sunday night.

The 71-year-old manager, who returned to Cagliari in December after being sacked by Watford the previous season, led the club to back-to-back promotions at the start of his managerial career 30 years ago and has surely now written himself into their history books.

Ranieri could not hold back his emotions after the dramatic win as he wept on the pitch following a dramatic victory.

The boss was held by other staff at the club, while a reporter fruitlessly tried to get an interview out of him. 

Claudio Ranieri was overcome with emotion on Sunday after guiding Cagliari into Serie A

The 71-year-old will be best remembered by English fans for his extraordinary Premier League win with Leicester

It will be a blow for Mari, who finishes two places above their opponents in Serie B but will stay in the second flight next season.

Hellas Verona won their relegation playoff 3-2 to cling on to their Serie A status while relegating Spezia. 

Ranieri has a history of fairytale success, and will be best remembered by English fans for leading Leicester City to the Premier League title in a remarkable season back in 2016.

He had endured a chequered career with a whopping 23 managerial appointments at some of Europe’s biggest clubs including  Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Napoli.

It is not known whether Ranieri will stay on at Cagliari after taking them up, but they could perhaps do with his experience after a few years as a yo-yo club between the top two divisions.

Ranieri addressed the fans at full time after writing himself into the club’s history