Veteran Ranieri set to return to hometown team Roma

Claudio Ranieri is set to take charge of his hometown team Roma, coming out of retirement to become the Serie A club’s third coach of a troubled season.

Ranieri, who won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016, has reportedly agreed a deal until the end of the season with Roma following negotiations in London.  

Italian media reported that Ranieri could be offered a backroom role within the club once his tenure as coach is over in June.

Ranieri effectively confirmed his appointment to reporters after he landed in Rome on Wednesday evening, suggesting that Roma had contacted him as a problem solver for their current dire situation.

The 73-year-old replaces Ivan Juric, who was hired in September following the dismissal of former captain Daniele De Rossi but was sacked after Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Bologna.

Juric’s short spell in charge was a disaster, with four wins from 12 matches in all competitions, and the former Croatia international left Roma 12th in Serie A, just four points above the relegation zone.

Ranieri announced the end of his club management career after guiding Cagliari to safety last season.

He told Sky in Italy at the time that he would be interested in a national team job but he has made a comeback to help dig Roma out of a deep crisis.

Ranieri returns to lead Roma out of a crisis for the second time after replacing the sacked Eusebio Di Francesco in March 2019 and helping to secure Europa League qualification.

But he is held in great affection by fans primarily for his first spell in charge which began a decade before.

He took over from Luciano Spalletti early in the 2009-10 season and led Roma on a thrilling league title challenge with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan which went to the last day of the campaign.