Roma contacts Claudio Ranieri as a candidate for manager

AS Roma is on its second manager, but it is already making headway into feeling out the chance of hiring Claudio Ranieri. Currently, Ivan Juric is leading Roma, a role he has held since mid-September. Juric took over as the manager of Roma after Daniele De Rossi after three draws and one loss. The replacement manager led Roma to back-to-back wins in his first two games in the dugout. However, Roma quickly returned to its poor form, and it has one point from three games in October. Now, the manager carousel could take another turn.

According to reports out of Italy, Roma is plotting another switch as Juric faces mounting pressure. The leading candidate early on is none other than Claudio Ranieri. The Italian manager, who is currently enjoying retirement at the age of 73, has been out of work since the conclusion of the previous campaign. He was the head coach of Cagliari last season as the club narrowly avoided relegation.

Ranieri’s extensive experience as a manager has taken him to the Stadio Olimpico on two occasions. The first of those came from 2009 to 2011. Things got off to a blinding start as Roma finished second to treble-winning Inter Milan by two points, and Roma lost to Inter in the Coppa Italia Final. However, that fast start tapered off, and Roma never returned to those heights. Ranieri resigned in the middle of the 2010/11 season. He returned for a brief stint in the 2019 season. He failed to lift the club to Champions League qualification, so he did not extend his stay.

Now, though, Ranieri could be the one to help Roma out of a difficult time. The club is not at risk of relegation per se, but European qualification is looking like a distant goal.

What would Claudio Ranieri have to change at Roma?

Assuming the Friedkin Group and Roma executives want to change the look of the coaching staff, Ranieri would have several tasks ahead of him. The most glaring of which is lack of output. Last season, Romelu Lukaku occupied the striker role and he scored 13 goals. His hold-up play and focus from the defense also allowed players like Paulo Dybala to thrive. The Argentine also scored 13 goals last season.

With Lukaku off to Napoli, Roma has struggled to find the back of the net. Roma has just nine goals through nine Serie A games this season. New arrival Artem Dovbyk has scored one-third of those, but he does not have the proper service. Roma has no shortage of possession. For reference, the club has the second-highest rate of possession in Serie A. However, it fails to do anything meaningful with its ball retention.

Ranieri’s first step would thus be to make Roma more clinical in front of goal. The squad shoots heavily, but it has a poor ratio of shots hitting the target. As the adage goes, one cannot if they do not hit the target. That is what Roma is suffering from right now. That is not necessarily something Ranieri would be able to overturn in a snap. But he could prove the difference over time.

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