AS Roma have appointed Paulo Fonseca as their new coach with the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss signing a two-year contract, the Italian Serie A club said on Tuesday.
Fonseca, whoUkrainian club Shakhtar to the league and cup double three years in a row between2016 and 2019, replaces Claudio Ranieri, who was appointed in March on atemporary basis until the end of the season.
"I amvery pleased to be appointed the head coach of AS Roma," PortugueseFonseca said in a statement here. "I want to thank the club's managementfor the opportunity they have given me. I am excited and motivated by the taskahead of us."
The46-year-old is a permanent replacement for Eusebio Di Francesco, who was sackedin March, and Roma said they had the option of extending his contract by a yearuntil 2022.
"Paulo is ayoung and ambitious coach with international experience, a winning mentalityand a reputation for bold, attacking football that will excite our fans," Romapresident Jim Pallotta said.
"From thevery first conversations we had with him, he made it very clear he wanted tocome to Roma and was excited about the challenge of working with our playersand putting out a team that the fans can be proud of."
Fonseca willhave the task of leading Roma back into the Champions League after the clubfinished sixth in Serie A and missed out on qualifying for Europe's premierclub competition for the first time since 2013.
