Udinese confirmed on Thursday that they have appointed Stefano Colantuono as the club's new first team head coach.
Udinese finished 16th in Serie A this season which caused Andrea Stramaccioni to be sacked after just one year in charge. The club made a reasonable start to the campaign but in their last 26 matches (from mid-December) they won just four matches in all competitions and ended up just seven points clear of Cagliari who were relegated.
The club confirmed Colantuono as Stramaccioni's replacement on their website; "Udinese Calcio announces it has appointed Stefano Colantuono as the coach of their first team. His contract will start on July 1 2015 and the length of it will be two years. The new coach will be unveiled to the media on June 8 at the Friuli stadium."
Colantuono's most recent job was with Atalanta where he spent five years before getting sacked in March with Atalanta just above the relegation zone. He had spent five years with the club including getting them promoted in 2010/11 and perhaps more impressively keeping them in Serie A despite points deductions in 2011/12 and 2012/13 for their involvement in a match fixing scandal.
Colantuono will now turn his attention to the job at hand with Udinese as the club look to bounce back from their worst league finish since being promoted to Serie A in 1994/95.