As an Anglophile known in Italy as “Il Mister”, Claudio Ranieri is not in the habit of laughing at the misfortunes of English clubs, but he cannot help but smile as he prepares to return to Stamford Bridge for the first time.

The Juventus coach was sacked after leading Chelsea to their best season in half a century, so he knows all about the Machiavellian machinations of a club who have just disposed of their third manager in 18 months, handing Guus Hiddink a home debut in a Champions League tie against a side second in Serie A. It is little wonder Ranieri has a twinkle in his eye with such an opportunity for revenge.

Ranieri’s reputation has been rehabilitated since he was mocked as “Clownio” during his early days in England — taking Juventus back into the Champions League on their return to the top flight and leading the pursuit of Inter Milan this season — and his new moniker suits him. The man born in Testaccio, a working-class district of Rome, resembles an old-fashioned English gent five years after leaving Chelsea.

Ranieri’s clothes (tweed and cords in brown and green), impeccable manners (the apology for his considerable tardiness is heartfelt) and posture (his upright stance as he strides across the club’s training ground in the foothills of the Alps is straight out of Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks) hail from a long-forgotten England idealised by those who have left, but the real clincher comes with the dry sense of humour evident when discussing recent events at his former club. “In Italy we’re used to changing the manager, but Chelsea change their manager more often than we change our government,” he said.

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The recovery of the “Tinkerman” will not be complete until Juventus knock Chelsea out of the Champions League. Ranieri returns to Stamford Bridge, in the first knockout round, on Wednesday for the first time since leaving the pitch in tears after a 1-0 win over Leeds United on the final day of the 2003-04 season. He sensed his inevitable exit then, but this being Chelsea, he had to wait 16 days to be put out of his misery. The Italian mentions the antique shops of Portobello Road and some sausages he bought at a Lincolnshire market when asked what he misses most about England, in keeping with his eccentric image, but he is also nostalgic for a country once characterised by patience.

“We’re used to it in Italy and maybe Chelsea are following our crazy system,” he said. “Every manager in Italy knows very well the law of our football. You start your job and if you don’t win you will not finish. I read Sir Alex Ferguson recently saying English football is changing because there are new owners and they all want to win. England had a good habit, but slowly, slowly England is becoming like Italy.”

Ranieri started a trend of sorts when he was the first coach to be sacked by Roman Abramovich, but he was still shocked to hear last week of the departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari. Although not as abrupt in some respects, Ranieri’s dismissal was even more brutal, because it had been public knowledge for several months and when the end finally came, the Chelsea owner did not even offer him the courtesy of a face-to-face meeting, with the news being imparted in a telephone call from Eugene Tenenbaum, a director of the club.

“I was very surprised to hear about Scolari,” Ranieri said. “Maybe it wasn’t a great first season, but it was still a shock. I don’t know if it’s a good way to run a club, but as an Italian I cannot condemn Chelsea. This is our history in Italy. If you don’t win, change, change, change.

“I don’t know Hiddink, but he’s proven to be a very good manager. Is it a good time to play them? I’m not sure. I know very well that when you change the manager there is a little revolution in the dressing-room. All the players want to show that they’re the best.”

Ranieri’s good humour alters only when talk turns to a man who is fast becoming his nemesis, José Mourinho, the Portuguese who took his job at Chelsea and has done his best to make his life a misery since joining him in Italy last summer.

Just as in England, Mourinho did not hold back, lampooning Ranieri as a geriatric fool who was incapable of winning leading trophies. The Italian is reluctant to get involved in another war of words, but he is no fan of Mourinho, the Inter Milan coach, a view he suggests is shared by the majority of his countrymen.

“You know very well José Mourinho, I know very well José Mourinho, now Italy also knows very well José Mourinho,” he said. “He plays games, starts wars and picks fights, but this is normal behaviour for José. I don’t know if Italian people like José. Maybe the Inter fans like him, but the others, I’m not sure.”