In the death throes of his time managing Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri met his predicament face on and discovered black comedy. With colour appearing to seep from his mortal coil, the Italian could be found working on an autobiography chronicling his ultimately doomed spell at the London club titled Proud Man Walking. Without English or European titles to protect his back, he knew he was a Dead Man Walking.
In the intermittent years, Ranieri has risen from the dead. The Italian coach will face Zenit St Petersburg tonight aiming to regain some more pride. Juventus will attempt to walk tall in embracing their return to the Champions League after the downside of the investigation into rigged matches ended with a two-year suspension. It left them in the solitary confinement of the Italian leagues. In the city of the Turin shroud, Ranieri is hoping to finally leave an imprint on this unforgiving tournament.
He may have been portrayed as slightly zany over the years, but Ranieri also appears to be transparent. He has been speaking this week about "a new spirit, a spirit of rebirth" that is circling Juventus, but he is also aware that they will enter murky waters with Juventus appearing in a petrifying Group H with Real Madrid and BATE of Belarus. It appears to be a section that could seriously damage a side's health. The Tinkerman versus The Little General sounds like some type of combat, but it symbolises the meeting of the former European Cup winners v Uefa Cup holders.
Ranieri and the Zenit manager Dick Advocaat are used to Europe's meatiest tournament, but their failings have also been exposed at this destination. Ranieri guided Chelsea to the semi-finals of the tournament in 2004, but a penchant for tinkering with his side ended with defeat to AS Monaco in the semi-final. It also provided the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich with the ammunition to catapult him out of Stamford Bridge. His last match running a side in the Champions League was in Italy when his Valencia side were thumped 5-1 by Inter Milan.
He will hope for better returns this evening. Advocaat acquired a treasure trove of memories in Europe last season. Zenit thumped Bayern Munich in the semi- finals of the Uefa Cup, and ravaged Rangers in the final, but it was at the Glasgow club where Advocaat discovered turmoil in the Champions League. Despite uncorking the champagne bottles and a large kitty to win the Scottish Premier League, players such as Tore Andre Flo and Ronald de Boer were found wanting in Europe and they never made it out of the group stages. It ended up being wanton destruction of the Glasgow club's finances. Overspending left huge debts.
Advocaat has money to burn at Zenit. They retain Russia's Andrei Arshavin, and remain a side good enough to beat Manchester United in the recent Super Cup. Juventus last won the Champions League when they beat Ajax in 1996. Alessandro Del Piero was around that night, and continues to retain his sparkle. For such a club, two years out is too long. @Email:dkane@thenational.ae