ROME — Claudio Ranieri required about one month to set Roma straight.
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Having taken over a group in turmoil in mid-November, Ranieri has the Giallorossi on a 10-match unbeaten run in Serie A, into the Europa League spherical of 16, and sparking calls that he stays on previous his caretaking time period.
Roma was 4 factors above the relegation zone when Ranieri was employed because the membership’s third coach of the season after Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric had been each fired. Now ninth, Roma is inside putting distance of touchdown a spot in Europe.
How did he do it? By restoring confidence in Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, getting Paulo Dybala again into goal-scoring kind and getting again to fundamentals.
“We have great players and they’re showing it. I’m happy that we’re regaining the support of our fans,” Ranieri stated following a 4-0 thrashing of Monza final weekend.
Earlier than Dybala scored twice in a 3-2 win over Porto within the Europa League final week, Ranieri mentioned a training strategy that has, amongst different accomplishments, helped him information Leicester Metropolis to an inconceivable Premier League title in 2016.
“In football, both now and back in the day, character and personality are fundamental,” the 73-year-old supervisor stated. “A player has to have it, otherwise he can’t express his full potential. I want those types of players.
“I want a team full of leaders, because leaders think like coaches. They don’t think egoistically only about themselves, they think about the common good, just like a coach does.”
Dybala hadn’t scored in 9 straight Europa League matches earlier than the Porto recreation.
“According to the law of numbers, that’s got to change,” Ranieri stated on the eve of the match.
Pellegrini has been considered one of Roma’s most criticized gamers this season earlier than scoring a spectacular opening objective in a 2-0 derby win over Lazio final month.
Ranieri improved his report to 5 wins in 5 derbies as Roma’s coach. His different derby wins got here throughout his first stint as Roma coach from 2009-11. He additionally coached his hometown membership briefly in 2019. Ranieri praises Fabregas
Roma’s final loss within the Italian league was at Como on Dec. 15, a month after he was employed. And the Giallorossi host Como on Sunday.
“Como is a magnificent squad with a coach who in a few years will be among the best in European soccer,” Ranieri stated, referring to Cesc Fabregas.
Como beat then-Serie A frontrunner Napoli final weekend and Fabregas is being talked about as a potential successor to Ranieri at Roma.
Ranieri’s contract stipulates that he’ll keep on as a particular adviser at Roma after this season and assist choose a everlasting coach.
However Roma sporting director Florent Ghisolfi has indicated that he desires Ranieri to remain on.
“From the moment he arrived, thanks to his experience, he knows how to get the best out of every player,” Dybala stated of Ranieri. “He does what’s best for the squad and it doesn’t matter what name you have. We all have the same chance of playing if we train well.”
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