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He’s won the Coppa Italia, the Copa Del Rey and perhaps what will forever be the most unlikely English Premier League title of all time.

Claudio Ranieri will take charge of latest club Fulham for the first time this weekend when they host Southampton at Craven Cottage.

Back managing at the top level in England once again, the experienced Italian is still clearly highly regarded throughout European football. His CV speaks for itself.

So it seems even madder in hindsight when you remember that he almost became manager of Hearts .

Why?

Hearts were looking for a new manager in October 2005. That they were was insanse in itself. George Burley, only appointed the previous summer, had been sacked by owner Vladimir Romanov despite leading Hearts to the top the table after eight wins in their first ten games and were yet to lose.

John McGlynn was put in temporary charge, but their unbeaten league start coming to an end at - of all places -Easter Road thanks to a 2-0 derby defeat to Hibs, meant the supporters needed placating...fast.

The candidates

It was hard to fault Romanov’s initial ambition when it came to choosing a successor. Former England, Barcelona and Newcastle boss Bobby Robson had met with then Chief Executive Phil Anderton in the summer before Burley was appointed.

He was offered the job, but politely declined after lengthy discussions. Therefore, it was only natural that his name came up again after Burley’s shock departure.

(Image: PA)

Robson was due in Edinburgh that week to attend the funeral of friend and former Fulham teammate Johnny Haynes, himself a regular at Tynecastle after moving to the Scottish capital, and reiterated his belief that the job was an “attractive one”.

Also having his name mentioned was Ottmar Hitzfeld. The Champions League winning boss had left Bayern Munich nearly 18 months previously, and was another big name who was reportedly sounded out.

There was also by the stage the omnipresent Nevio Scala, who seemed to pop up whenever Hearts were in need of a new manager. The Italian had also held talks in the summer of 2005, and the former Parma and Borussia Dortmund boss was still keen on the gig - just as soon as his by now infamous English lessons were complete.

(Image: Daily Record)

It was his compatriot Ranieri that was the star attraction however. The former Chelsea boss had been sacked by Spanish giants Valencia in February 2005, and travelled north from his London home to meet with Romanov , having already spoken with Anderton in the English capital after watching Crystal Palace host Liverpool in a midweek game.

It wasn’t to be

Alas, “The Tinkerman” didn’t end up at Hearts. Shortly after meeting the owner in Edinburgh, Ranieri decided against taking charge of the Gorgie club. Reports suggested the club’s attentions then turned to Kevin Keegan, but came to nothing substantial.

When you consider that Ranieri’s next four jobs were at Parma, Juventus, Roma and Internazionale, it’s understandable that he wasn’t tempted by the delights of the Gorgie Fish Bar or the selection of reds in The Diggers.

Achieving promotion back to the top flight with Monaco in 2014 preceded a nightmare spell in charge of the Greek national team.

His comeback from that however, was beyond spectacular, going on to do the unthinkable with Leicester City in 2016.

After brief spell with french outfit Nantes last season, he is now back in Englush football with Fulham, as Hearts fans maybe wonder what could have been had the respected Italian become a Jambo...rather than Graham Rix.

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