Roma are working on a deal to appoint Claudio Ranieri as their new manager in a caretaker role until the end of the 2024-25 season.
The 73-year-old is in talks to take charge of the Serie A side on a caretaker basis after Roma sacked Ivan Juric on Sunday.
If the deal is completed, it would be Ranieri’s third stint in charge of his hometown club. He took temporary charge of Roma during a similar difficult period in 2019.
Ranieri, whose coaching career has spanned 37 years, announced that he would retire from club management after helping Cagliari avoid relegation from Serie A at the end of the 2023-24 season. His first senior managerial role was with Vigor Lamezia in 1986.
He has managed some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Chelsea, Juventus, Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Valencia, but is best known for his two-year spell in charge of Leicester City, during which he guided the side to a famous Premier League title in 2016.
The Italian has taken charge of 18 club sides during his career and had a brief stint in international football as Greece boss in 2014.
Juric, 49, was appointed by Roma in September following the sacking of former player Daniele De Rossi.
Juric went unbeaten in his first three games in charge but a surprise defeat in the Europa League to Swedish side Elfsborg led to a run of three games without a win in Serie A, including a 5-1 loss to Fiorentina.
However, following their 3-2 loss to Bologna on Sunday, their fifth defeat of the campaign and third straight game without a win in all competitions, the Croatian coach was dismissed.
Roma, who are 12th in Serie A, are next in action when they travel to league leaders Napoli on November 24.
Roma to lean on Ranieri’s experience?
Roma lost to Bologna at the weekend and fired Ivan Juric moments after the final whistle. His dismissal was expected as things have only deteriorated since he replaced Daniele De Rossi in mid-September.
It’s Roma’s worst start to a season in Serie A in two decades. They are 12th in the table despite spending more than €100m in the summer and have lost four of their last five games in the league. Protests have been non-stop since club legend De Rossi was fired only a matter of months after Roma’s owners The Friedkin Group handed him a three-year contract.
Ranieri’s prospective appointment would be about much more than leaning on his experience. He is Roman, a supporter of the club, and would, to some degree, placate the fans who the owners are still unlikely to win back.
If Ranieri rights the ship, he will buy the Friedkins time to restructure the club. If he suffers as De Rossi and Juric did in the same confused CEO-less environment, things could get remarkably even more hostile.
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