The last few weeks have been rather strange at Serie A side Roma. They have gone from being a favourite to qualify for the top four to now being behind Juventus and Como in the race. Now, something bigger is brewing, with Claudio Ranieri and Gian Piero Gasperini publicly clashing.
Importantly, Gasperini has never hidden his frustration with the club owners. At one point, he also skipped a press conference as he didn’t want to go overboard with his criticism of the Friedkins and Ranieri.
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Before the game against Pisa, Gasperini once again clarified that he didn’t get all his signings in the summer. Beyond that, he made it clear that the club should focus on signing established players and not young players, as it would put too much pressure on the project. He also placed special emphasis on Wesley and Donyell Malen, describing them as his own signings.
That isn’t new but after the win over Pisa, it is Ranieri who took to the press, leading to the spat between the two becoming public.
The ex-Roma manager said: “I’ll assess the situation at the end. When you’re a coach, you look at the physical condition, you make the substitutions… as an advisor, you stay in your place, and when the club asks you to speak up, you have your say. I’m the owners’ senior advisor, not Gasperini’s.”
Focusing specifically on Gasperini’s comments on the signings, he said: “I chose five or six coaches, three of which didn’t come. The club chose Gasperini. We chose him for what he did at Atalanta: starting with young players and slowly bringing them to the big stage.”
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Emphasising that all signings were made with Gasperini’s permission, he said: “I stopped coaching for this reason; if we have to lose a year of development, I’m happy to do so. We expected exactly this: we signed young players, Gasperini and I chose the players. There wasn’t a single player who came without his approval. Ziolkowski, Venturino, Zaragoza.”
He also revealed that Roma didn’t sign Jonathan Rowe because the manager said so, leading to the winger joining Bologna.
“It’s true, we could have signed Rowe, but he wasn’t taken at his request. We tried to give the coach a team that last year finished one point away from the Champions League, and young players to develop. If I like to continue in this role, I’ll stay, otherwise I won’t. I’m not acting as anyone’s guarantor; I love Roma. Just as I stepped aside as coach, I can now act as a senior advisor.”
In what appeared to be a rant, Ranieri didn’t end there. He then said that Wesley and Malen weren’t the only signings Gasperini approved and others need to be spoken of as his signings too.
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“It’s true that we brought Malen and Wesley, but we also brought all the others. Many were injured and there were other issues. It’s too easy to say Malen and Wesley. We also chose Ferguson and we wasted time on Sancho, who then didn’t want to come. Some players the coach didn’t like, and we didn’t bring them. Let’s bring these players, but with the FFP issue, we had to bring in a lot of players on loan.”
“This means we brought in some players on loan, then some are from Roma like Wesley and Malen, and others maybe aren’t at that level. Never mind, we brought them in on purpose. Haven’t they settled in or aren’t they good enough? Let’s change them.”
He also took another shot at Gasperini, pointing out there is a lack of unity at the club and this wasn’t the case when he was manager.
“Last year, there was complete unity between me, the players, and the fans. The fans took us by the hand, and it was a wonderful ride. We missed out on the Champions League by just one point; the team had achieved so much. I was fortunate to have only two serious injuries, Dybala and Saelemaekers.
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“Today, I find myself in a different role. As a coach, you have quick and practical responsibility; on the pitch, you have to know how to change the game and make the right decisions. Now, however, you have to observe, see, and give your opinion when asked.”
This ideally gives the impression of being just another episode in the Serie A but it is also a clash of individuals with differing personalities. Gasperini has always been combative and demanding. He often makes major demands and has lofty expectations.
Ranieri is empathetic and more of a politician. Now, it feels like one of them will leave Roma sooner or later.
Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
