He is 73 – some would say closer to retirement than the new job. But when the heart wants something, years are trivial. Claudio Ranieri, the author of Leicester City’s 2016 fairytale is on the verge of joining Roma for the third time.Ranieri grew up in Rome and never hid his love for the Giallorossi. After all, he confirmed it a few weeks ago in an interview with Corriere della Sera, stating that only the club from Stadio Olimpico could ignite fire in him and make him take up another challenge despite his age.🚨 Ranieri is coming out of retirement to coach Roma!Sky Italia says a deal is close for Claudio to make his return to Roma and replace Juric. pic.twitter.com/3rY4SShYdX— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) November 12, 2024 In 2009, The Tinkerman, as they call him in England, sat on Roma’s bench for the first time, succeeding Luciano Spalletti, and was immediately close to winning the title, but one duel against Sampdoria and former Giallorossi hungry for vengeance, Antonio Cassano cost him the Scudetto.Ten years later, replacing Eusebio Di Francesco, Ranieri took Roma over for the second time and ultimately lacked only three points to qualify for the Champions League. Even though the Friedkins, father Dan and son Ryan had different opinions on the profile of the new coach, Claudio emerged as a solution.The father was in favour of a foreign manager and against Daniele De Rossi’s return altogether, while the son wanted an Italian name closely related to Roma, which could quickly put out the fire around the club. Ryan’s will obviously prevailed.He’s jobless, not desperate: Ten Hag rejects an offer from Mou’s former sideThe Friedkins’ initial choice was, in fact, Turkey’s head coach, Vincenzo Montella, Roma’s former forward and a club legend who spent a decade at Stadio Olimpico. Yet, the Turks refused to let their manager go without compensation, so the Wolfess’ owners activated their alternative and quite a clever solution, which would calm the dissatisfied fans down – Ranieri.Given that Roma are only 12th in Serie A, 13 points behind the leaders and 11 behind the “European qualifiers’ zone,” Ranieri’s primary focus could be the UEFA Europa League. Moreover, his arrival could mean the “resurrection” of Mats Hummels as well as more minutes for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante. As for Paulo Dybala, should Ranieri highlight him as a key player, he’d stay. Any other scenario would mean his imminent departure.##NAJAVA_MECA_8495300##All in all, Claudio’s third saving mission begins. The first two could be called successful, and even the third one is not “mission impossible.” After all, who could be more suitable for the job than the man who conquered the Premier League with Leicester, making one of the biggest surprises in the history of football?
