Even though the transfer window is shut, Fabio Paratici and his team are hard at work. The latest fruit of their labor is a contract extension for Luca Ranieri. His deal was set to expire in 2028 but he’s now added an additional year with a club option to take it all the way to 2030. I haven’t been able to find anything about his new salary but my guess is that it’s a slight increase on the €2.2 million he earned annually under his previous contract.
Ranieri, 27, has a lot of limitations. He isn’t physically imposing and struggles to stick with bigger strikers. He isn’t particularly quick, either. While he’s capable of hitting a decent pass over the top, he’s quite uncomfortable on the ball under any sort of pressure and will often move it to places that aren’t helpful. He’s already been stripped of the armband and nearly left Fiorentina last winter. His susceptibility to cramps late in games has cost his side at least one majorish trophy already.
And despite all that, keeping him around is a fantastic decision. I’m not just saying that because I like Ranieri (and yes, I like Ranieri). As the club’s longest-serving senior player, one who’s been at the club since 2013, he offers invaluable institutional knowledge, especially to a team in transition. His ouster as captain last year was more about the pathetic state of the club than anything he did or didn’t do. And for all his flaws, nobody’s ever doubted his commitment to the shirt. That’s the sort of guy you want to keep around.
And although he’s got obvious limitations, he’s also a useful player. He overcomes some of those athletic limitations by timing his sliding tackles as well as anyone in recent Viola memory. My abiding image of him is coming in like a Budweiser truck on some winger and taking the ball cleanly into touch, then popping to his feet with a wild-eyed grin for his victim and trotting back into position. He reads the game well and, if given space, can raid forward and play a good pass over the top or even cross into the box.
More than anything, though, he’s a moments guy. That’s rare for a defender but in Luca’s case, it’s true. He scores crucial goals, usually by arriving at the back post to scramble home a corner (although sometimes by going full Nenad Tomović in the best possible way). Of the 12 goals he’s scored in his Viola career, 9 have been to equalize or take the lead. That stat, along with those sliding tackles, indicates a flair rarely seen in centerbacks.
What really makes me love him, though, is how much he loves his teammates. He faked an injury against Inter Milan so Sofyan Amrabat could break his Ramadan fast. He turned into the world’s proudest and most protective big brother when Pietro Comuzzo broke through. On the pitch, he’s always building everyone up, high-fiving his guys for making a tackle or a header. Even without the armband, he’s obviously one of the primary leaders of this team.
As long as he’s cool being a rotational option, that’s perfect. A capable, experienced centerback in his prime with a couple of flaws is a very good player to have on the roster, especially as a mentor to younger guys like Viery and Víctor Valdepeñas. He loves the club and the club should love him back. I’m delighted to have another couple years of his antics, dramatic goals, absurd tackles, and general goofiness. You should be too.
