ROME (AP) — Claudio Ranieri and Gian Piero Gasperini last June We were sitting side by side smilingTwo of Italy’s most respected managers have united in an effort to make Roma a formidable team. Serie A candidate again.
Less than a year later, Ranieri and Gasperini are battling for control of the capital’s club, which sit sixth and are in danger of missing out on the Champions League for the seventh consecutive year.
Ranieri resigned as Roma manager at the end of last season, when the team missed out on Champions League qualification by one point. He then became a special advisor to the team’s American owners and was involved in selecting Gasperini as his successor.
“There was a list of five or six managers, but three didn’t come and in the end it was the club’s choice,” Ranieri said last week. “We chose[Gasperini]because of what he achieved with the young players at Atalanta. He and I chose the players. … We gave him a team that finished within one point of the Champions League last season and had a lot of young players to promote.”
However, Gasperini has expressed disappointment with some of the players who have signed for Roma, with the exception of Donyell Malen, who has scored 10 goals in 12 Italian league games since joining from Aston Villa in January.
“If I am consulted again, I will stay on,” Ranieri said. “Otherwise, I could have left. I love Roma and am ready to step down as a senior advisor, just as I have already done before as a coach.”
Asked about Ranieri’s comments after last Friday’s 3-0 win over Pisa, Gasperini said Brazilian full-back Wesley was the only player he requested and arrived during the off-season.
Asked to explain why Roma were struggling to produce goals – unusual for his coaching style – Gasperini said: “I asked for help in attack… (because) I have always tried to improve the level in that area. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and that’s why we had some problems.”
Roma’s next match will be a visit to his former team Atalanta on Saturday.
“I left a very strong team and I know their value,” Gasperini said of Atalanta, who are one place behind Roma in the table.
major matches
Inter Milan striker Pio Esposito will face his younger brother Sebastian Esposito on Friday as Serie A leaders Inter host Cagliari. Both players are forwards. Esposito’s third brother, Salvatore, is a midfielder for Serie B side Sampdoria.
Featured players
AC Milan winger Rafael Leão’s departure from the field after receiving the whistle against Udinese last weekend may have been the breaking point for Rossoneri supporters. Leon was Serie A’s player of the season when Milan won the title in 2022, but his form has been a constant question since then.
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Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was largely responsible for Italy missing out on the World Cup after receiving a costly red card and continues to struggle in Serie A. Bastoni’s stumble means Inter are likely to be rested against Cagliari as they hope to maintain a nine-point lead over defending champions Napoli with six matches remaining.
off the field
The leading candidates to succeed Gabriele Gravina as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) are Giovanni Malago and Giancarlo Abete.
Mr. Malago led the Italian Olympic Committee for 12 years, was an IOC member and president of the Regional Organizing Committee for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Abete served as FIGC president from 2007 to 2014, but resigned after Italy lost in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. He is currently the president of the Italian amateur soccer league.
Gravina resigned after Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualifying playoffs last month.
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