Gianluca Festa appointed Cagliari Calcio manager until end of season

Cagliari Calcio have appointed Gianluca Festa as the club's new coach until the end of the season.

The 46-year-old former defender replaces Zdenek Zeman, who resigned on Tuesday.

Cagliari are currently in 19th place in the Serie A table, nine points adrift of safety.

Festa enjoyed a season as a player at the Stadio Sant'Elia before taking a brief role on the club's coaching staff under former manager Giorgio Melis in 2010.

His first game in charge will be on Sunday when he takes the strugglers to Fiorentina.