After returning to the Roma bench for the third time last fall, Claudio Ranieri faced a nearly unprecedented challenge: pulling the Giallorossi back from the brink of relegation. With the capital club reeling from a horrific start to the season under Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric, Roma was hovering three points above the drop zone. Admittedly, it was only mid-November, but for a club that has faced the specter of Serie B once in its history, the panic felt real.
With nowhere else to turn and few
men foolish enough to take on the task, Roma lured Ranieri out of retirement and back to the Stadio Olimpico. After compiling a 22-7-7 record, including an incredible 19-match unbeaten run, Ranieri lifted Roma to fifth place, falling short of Champions League qualification by one point.
After rescuing Roma from the brink of disaster and getting them as close to the CL as any manager in the past several years, Ranieri moved upstairs last spring to a Senior Advisor role with the club. While that is a rather ambiguous job title, Ranieri’s role was to, well, advise; to help the Friedkins chart a path toward sustained success.
The first step in that plan was to find someone to replace him on the touchline. While we now know that Gian Piero Gasperini wasn’t the first choice for the job, pairing his managerial capabilities with Ranieri’s unique Roma know-how felt like a recipe for success.
However, recent weeks have revealed flaws in that grand plan. Rumored disagreements over transfer strategy have surfaced, and these in-house debates soon played out in the tabloids, with Gasperini suggesting that his input was ignored last summer. Ranieri soon countered, claiming that Gasperini approved every new signing. This clash reached its boiling point earlier this month when Ranieri hinted that Gasperini was the club’s fourth choice for the job, prompting Gasperini’s emotional presser before last week’s draw with Atalanta.
And now, with the club embroiled in another off-the-pitch controversy that could potentially force the Friedkin family to decide between their manager and their advisor, it appears like Ranieri has taken the decision out of their hands. According to multiple sources in Italy, including Sky Sport and Il Tempo, Ranieri is expected to resign from his position, with an announcement expected before this weekend’s Bologna match, if not sooner.
It would be a rather ignominious ending for a man who has done so much for Roma, but an ill-fated one-year stint as an advisor can never overshadow all the good Ranieri has done for the club.
