ROME (AP) — Claudio Ranieri required about one month to set Roma straight.
Having taken over a team in turmoil in mid-November, Ranieri has the Giallorossi on a 10-match unbeaten run in Serie A, into the Europa League round of 16, and sparking calls that he stays on past his caretaking term.
Roma was four points above the relegation zone when Ranieri was hired as the club’s third coach of the season after Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric were both fired. Now ninth, Roma is within striking distance of landing a spot in Europe.
How did he do it? By restoring confidence in Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, getting Paulo Dybala back into goal-scoring form and getting back to fundamentals.
“We have great players and they’re showing it. I’m happy that we’re regaining the support of our fans,” Ranieri said following a 4-0 thrashing of Monza last weekend.
Before Dybala scored twice in a 3-2 win over Porto in the Europa League last week, Ranieri discussed a coaching approach that has, among other accomplishments, helped him guide Leicester City to an improbable Premier League title in 2016.
“In football, both now and back in the day, character and personality are fundamental,” the 73-year-old manager said. “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 nine straight Europa League matches before the Porto game.
“According to the law of numbers, that’s got to change,” Ranieri said on the eve of the match.
Pellegrini has been one of Roma’s most criticized players this season before scoring a spectacular opening goal in a 2-0 derby win over Lazio last month.
Ranieri improved his record to five wins in five derbies as Roma’s coach. His other derby wins came during his first stint as Roma coach from 2009-11. He also coached his hometown club briefly in 2019.
Ranieri praises Fabregas
Roma’s last loss in the Italian league was at Como on Dec. 15, a month after he was hired. 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 said, referring to Cesc Fabregas.
Como beat then-Serie A leader Napoli last weekend and Fabregas is being mentioned as a possible successor to Ranieri at Roma.
Ranieri’s contract stipulates that he will stay on as a special adviser at Roma after this season and help select a permanent coach.
But Roma sporting director Florent Ghisolfi has indicated that he wants Ranieri to stay on.
“From the moment he arrived, thanks to his experience, he knows how to get the best out of every player,” Dybala said 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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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
