- 21 hours ago
OFFICIAL: Claudio Ranieri comes out of retirement to manage AS Roma
Claudio Ranieri has been announced as the new manager of AS Roma, coming out of retirement to coach his beloved hometown team for a third time.
Ranieri retired from club management in the summer after saving Cagliari from relegation.
But the 73-year-old was offered the job to be Roma caretaker manager until the end of the season following Ivan Juric's sacking.
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He flew to London on Tuesday, with his agent Pietro Chiodi, for discussions with Dan and Ryan Friedkin, the Roma owners, and his appointment was confirmed on Thursday.
Ranieri was asked to be Roma caretaker for the remainder of the campaign in a bid to steer the crisis-hit club through stormy waters.
Roma have endured a disastrous start to the 2024-25 season. They are down in 12th position in Serie A, just four points above the relegation zone. They also are at risk of not qualifying from the Europa League league phase.
Daniele De Rossi was sacked as manager after just three games this season, while his replacement Ivan Juric was then sacked himself on Sunday after just two months in charge.
Ranieri is Roma’s fourth manager in 2024 alone, as Jose Mourinho was sacked earlier in the year to make way for De Rossi.
Presented with the offer to save the Giallorossi, the 73-year-old jumped at the opportunity, thus reversing his retirement decision.
Ranieri returns to Roma
It marks the third occasion Ranieri has coached his hometown club, whom he supported as a kid. He coached Roma firstly from 2009 to 2011, and then again from March to June 2019.
Ranieri has enjoyed a glittering managerial career spanning an incredible 38 years and 22 coaching posts.
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He has managed giants like Chelsea, Juventus, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Fiorentina and Monaco to name just several.
His greatest achievement, though, was winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016. This has gone down as arguably the greatest fairytale victory in modern football history.
He has won 10 trophies as a manager during his career and was named The Best FIFA Men’s Coach of 2016 for his heroics with Leicester.