MILAN, May 25: Inter Milan appointed former Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri as their new coach on Friday after sacking Andrea Stramaccioni following a disappointing ninth-place finish in Serie A.

The 2010 Champions League winners have suffered a series of blows and gone through five coaches since their unprecedented treble under Jose Mourinho.

“FC Internazionale would like to thank Andrea Stramaccioni for the great commitment and professionalism he showed in a particularly difficult year. Walter Mazzarri has signed a two-year deal,” the club said on their website.

Mazzarri had been linked with a move to Inter ever since announcing he would leave Napoli at the end of this season.

The 51-year-old Mazzarri has just led Napoli to a second-placed finish and a spot in next season’s Champions League.

He has coached Napoli for the past four seasons, having previously been in charge at Livorno, Reggina and Sampdoria.

Having never coached in Serie A before, Stramaccioni was hired in March last year to replace the fired Claudio Ranieri.

He led Inter to a sixth-place finish last season but this campaign has been marred by a series of injuries, including serious setbacks for key players Diego Milito and Javier Zanetti, the club’s 39-year-old captain.—Agencies