Oddo replaces sacked Del Neri at Udinese

Udinese have announced the appointment of Massimo Oddo as the club's new coach, replacing the sacked Luigi Del Neri.

Del Neri was dismissed after Udinese suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Cagliari on Sunday, leaving the team three points above the Serie A relegation zone.

Udinese wasted no time in moving for Oddo, who was dismissed by previous club Pescara in February.

"I'm delighted to have been given this opportunity," Oddo - a member of the Italy squad that won the World Cup in 2006 - said at a news conference.

"Udinese are an ambitious club with first-rate facilities. There's everything you need here to do a good job.

"Udinese have some very good individual players and promising youngsters. I promise I'll give my all here.

"For now I'm going to focus on helping these players exploit their full potential. We have some very talented youngsters. I'll see which areas we need to work on once I get out on the training ground."