TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus hired Luciano Spalletti as its coach Thursday and tasked the former Napoli and Italy manager with making the record 36-time Serie A champion a title contender again.

Juventus announced it had signed Spalletti to an eight-month contract that Italian media reported will be automatically renewed for two years if the club qualifies for the Champions League.

The move comes three days after Igor Tudor was fired following three straight losses and an eight-match winless run that had dated back to Sept. 13. The slide ended with a 3-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday under interim coach Massimo Brambilla.

“We are delighted to welcome a coach with such expertise and experience to the Bianconeri family: welcome to Juventus and good luck, coach!” Juventus said in a stateme

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