Inter Milan fired Claudio Ranieri on Monday after a run of just one win in its last 10 league matches, culminating in a 2-0 loss to archrival Juventus a day earlier.
Andrea Stramaccioni was promoted from youth club coach and will now direct the first team, Inter said on its website. He becomes Inter's fifth different manager since Jose Mourinho departed upon leading Inter to a treble in 2010.
Inter will likely look for a more established coach once the season ends, with recently fired Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas - who once worked under Mourinho - leading the list of candidates.
Veteran coach Ranieri was hired in September to replace Gian Piero Gasperini but his tenure was marred by injuries and Inter's inability to overcome the departure of Samuel Eto'o.
Eto'o departed for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala before the season began and Inter's key playmaker Wesley Sneijder has been in and out of the lineup all season due to a series of physical problems.
Inter has lost 12 league matches, one short of the club low established in 1947-48.
Inter president Massimo Moratti said earlier Monday that he thought he would keep Ranieri until the end of the season, but he apparently changed his mind following a meeting with technical and sporting directors Marco Branca and Piero Ausilio.
''President Massimo Moratti and all of F.C. Internazionale thank Claudio Ranieri and his staff for the professionalism and dedication shown, with sincerity, in these months guiding the squad,'' a statement on Inter's website said.
The Juve loss dropped Inter to eighth place, 22 points behind league leader and crosstown rival AC Milan.
Earlier this month, Inter was eliminated by Marseille in the second round of the Champions League after allowing late goals in both legs.
Ranieri previously coached Chelsea, Juventus and Roma, but his only significant titles came with Valencia - the Copa del Rey in 1999 and the UEFA Super Cup in 2004.
His term with Inter lasted little more than six months. After a slow start, Inter had a run of seven consecutive wins in January, but then things fell apart again, with the performances against Marseille and Juventus sealing his fate.
Stramaccioni led Inter's youth side to a win over Ajax in the inaugural NextGen Series final Sunday but has never managed in Serie A. At 36, Stramaccioni is two years younger than Inter captain Javier Zanetti.
Rafa Benitez was first hired to replace Mourinho, then Leonardo came in during the middle of last season before making way for Gasperini, and eventually the 60-year-old Ranieri, whose contract was due to last through the end of next season.
The move marks the 16th coaching change in the 20-team Serie A since the preseason.
