MILAN: Claudio Ranieri waved goodbye to Cagliari and brought the curtain down on a near four-decade club coaching career with Thursday`s 3-2 defeat to Fiorentina cruelly inflicted in the 13th minute of added time.

Arthur stroked home Fiorentina`s winning goal from the penalty spot after Luca Beltran earned the away side, who trailed 2-1 in the 85th minute, a soft spot-kick given after a long VAR check at the Sardegna Arena.

Fiorentina won and ensured European football with the last kick of Ranieri`s last match in charge of Cagliari, ahead of next week`s Europa Conference League final with Olympiakos.

Former Premier League winner Ranieri has now effectivelyretired even if he admitted in an interview with Sky in Italy that he would be interested in a national team job.

However Thursday`s defeat made little difference to Ranieri or Cagliari as last weekend he saved from relegation the same club he brought up from Serie B last season and with whom he rose to prominence in the late 1980s.

Ranieri began his managerial career in amateur football in 1986 but turned heads by guiding Cagliari to Serie A with two successive promotions in 1989 and 1990.

`What we managed to do, we did together,` said Ranieri in a short post-match speech on the pitch. `I asked for your help a year and a half ago because onlywith you could we do what we did.

Ranieri welled up on the sidelines ahead of kick-off as fans chanted his name and a standing ovation rolled around the stands, while a banner was unfurled which read `Eternal gratitude to a great man`.

And afterwards he hugged his players and family in front of a crowd which roared in appreciation of one of Italian football`s most beloved figures.

The 72-year-old, who famously led Leicester City to a shock Premier League title in 2016, said that his decision to quit had been made with a `heavy heart`, worrying that he would tarnish two brilliant spells nearly 40 years apart with Cagliari by staying on.Ranieri, who has managed a string of Serie A teams including Juventus, AS Roma and Inter Milan, is best known for guiding Leicester to a fairytale Premier League title.

He also managed Chelsea, Fulham and Watford in the Premier League, as well as Valencia and Atletico Madrid in Spain`s LaLiga.

Cagliari president, Tommaso Giulini, praise d Ranieri`s impact on the club, saying in a ceremony after Thursday`s match: `I don`t want to talk about what the coach did in Cagliari. You all know that. I would like to focus on what he leaves us with: grace, loyalty, determination and courage, the most beautiful values of sports. Thank you, Claudio!`-Agencies