Claudio Ranieri close to Roma. Meeting in London with the Friedkins

There is no official announcement yet but – if there are no hitches – Claudio Ranieri could be the new coach of Roma, the third of this unfortunate football season for the Giallorossi colours. On Tuesday evening the 73-year-old coach, of Roman origin and a Roma supporter, took a plane to London in the company of his agent to reach the Friedkins, owners of the club. It remains to be seen whether Ranieri will be asked to sit on the bench until the end of the season or to act as technical director to support another coach. For Ranieri, who had decided to take a break after two years at Cagliari which were certainly tiring but full of satisfaction (in which he achieved promotion to Serie A and salvation), it would be the third experience as Giallorossi coach, after having worn the shirt at the beginning career in the ’73-’74 season. In recent days, after the welcome given to Ivan Juric, ‘rejected’ by the team and badly digested by the fans who did not forgive the Texan owners for the dismissal of Daniele De Rossi, Ranieri’s name was the most popular together with that of Roberto Mancini (kicked out of Saudi Arabia due to lack of results) and Vincenzo Montella, linked to the Turkish national team for another six months. An experienced coach and profound knowledge of the Roma environment, Ranieri, always loved by the Giallorossi people, could really be the right man capable of bringing enthusiasm and above all results. Anchored in 12th place in the table after 12 matches, Roma have collected just 13 points, the result of three wins and four draws. Five defeats, including four in the last five matches. Once the national team break is over, the team has a fiery triptych on the calendar: on 24 November there is the match against Napoli at the ‘Maradona’ stadium, on the 28th the trip to London in the Europa League against Tottenham and on 2 December the match at the Olimpico against Gasperini’s very fast Atalanta.