Valencia
On 8 June 2004, he returned for a second stint as coach of
Valencia on a three-year contract.
[5] Ranieri took over after
Rafael Benítez, the manager who had led Valencia to the
UEFA Cup and La Liga double the previous season, resigned and then promptly joined Liverpool. Ranieri made a series of signings from Serie A, including
Marco Di Vaio,
Stefano Fiore,
Bernardo Corradi, and
Emiliano Moretti. After a bright start, in which the Mestalla outfit picked up 14 out of a possible 18 points and beat Porto to lift the
UEFA Super Cup, Valencia went into a slump starting in October. They won only once in 7 games and were knocked out of the Champions League, partly thanks to a 5–1 defeat to Inter Milan in which midfielder
Miguel Ángel Angulo was sent off for spitting.
After a brief revival, Valencia went another 6 games without a win beginning mid-January. Apart from the unpopularity of his four Italian signings
Ranieri was criticised for not playing Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar and for persistent changes to formations and tactics, something resembling his Chelsea days. He was sacked on 25 February 2005 after Valencia were knocked out of the
UEFA Cup by
Steaua Bucureşti.
[6] Valencia were sixth in La Liga at the time of Ranieri's sacking.
[7] Quique Sánchez Flores was announced by Valencia in June 2005 to be Ranieri's long term successor. Prior to that Ranieri had picked up £3million from Valencia for the premature termination of his contract.