German coach Kosta Runjaic will succeed Fabio Cannavaro as head coach of Udinese, the Serie A club confirmed on Friday.
“Udinese are delighted to announce that Kosta Runjaic has been appointed coach of their first team for the coming season,” the club said in a statement.
Runjaic, 53, will be in command of a top-tier squad in one of Europe’s big five leagues for the first time.
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He has spent the last two seasons at Legia Warsaw, where he won the Polish Cup in 2023 before being let go in April.
Udinese, who have had three different coaches in the past season, finished 15th in the previous Italian Championship.
Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup and won the Ballon d’Or that year, was only appointed in April, but his contract was not renewed.
Udinese are the tenth Serie A club to change coaches since the end of the 2023-24 season.
That total may grow to 13 by the time training resumes in a few weeks.