Italian champions Juventus have signed a two-year deal with former player Didier Deschamps, after former coach Fabio Capello quite the club to join Real Madrid.

Juventus, who are facing possible demotion as a punishment for their part in the match-fixing scandal sweeping through Italian football, said the contract would run until June 30, 2008.

Deschamps said last month Juventus had asked him to coach the side if they were relegated to the second-tier Serie B.

Juventus and fellow top Italian clubs Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio have been accused of sporting fraud by a sports prosecutor.

No decision has been taken yet on possible relegation for Juventus, but even a lawyer for Juventus admitted that demotion to Serie B would be an acceptable punishment if the club were found guilty.

The former French international was appointed Monaco coach in 2001. He took the club to second-place league finish behind Lyon in 2003, and guided the club to the 2004 Champions League final. He quit in 2005 after a poor run of form.

The vacancy at Juve was created by the departure of Capello who signed a three-year deal with Real Madrid last week.