Claudio Ranieri has been appointed as Roma’s third coach for the current season, stepping in after the dismissal of Ivan Juric amid a turbulent period for the team. The 73-year-old coach takes on this role at his hometown club for the third time, having previously managed Roma in two separate stints from 2009 to 2011 and again in 2019. Additionally, Ranieri started his professional playing career with Roma.
Juric was ousted following a disappointing 3-2 loss at home to Bologna, which left Roma languishing in 12th place in Serie A, just four points clear of the relegation zone. He had only taken over the coaching role in September, succeeding the well-regarded Daniele De Rossi.
With this change, Ranieri marks the fourth managerial appointment for Roma this year alone; De Rossi had filled in for Jose Mourinho at the beginning of the year. The club confirmed that following the current season, Ranieri will transition into an executive role where he will advise the ownership on all sporting initiatives. They also indicated that the search for a successor in the coaching position will begin in the coming months, with Ranieri likely contributing to that decision.
This season has been fraught with challenges for the American ownership team of Dan and Ryan Friedkin. The fan base expressed their discontent following De Rossi’s firing, which culminated in protests. The situation was further exacerbated when CEO and general manager Lina Souloukou resigned days later, facing backlash from supporters who held her responsible for De Rossi’s exit.
Ranieri had previously announced that he intended for last season with Cagliari to be his final tenure, yet he has chosen to return to Roma, highlighting how significant the opportunity is to coach the club he has profound ties to. He is particularly renowned for his remarkable achievement of guiding Leicester City to an unexpected English Premier League championship in 2016.
His debut with Roma is set to be a challenging one, as he will face off against the current Serie A leaders, Napoli, in ten days.