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 didnโt want to go overboard with his criticism of the Friedkins and Ranieri.
Before the game against Pisa, Gasperini once again clarified that he didnโt 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 isnโt 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: โIโll assess the situation at the end. When youโre a coach, you look at the physical condition, you make the substitutionsโฆ as an advisor, you stay in your place, and when the club asks you to speak up, you have your say. Iโm the ownersโ senior advisor, not Gasperiniโs.โ
Focusing specifically on Gasperiniโs comments on the signings, he said: โI chose five or six coaches, three of which didnโt 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.โ
Emphasising that all signings were made with Gasperiniโs permission, he said: โI stopped coaching for this reason; if we have to lose a year of development, Iโm happy to do so. We expected exactly this: we signed young players, Gasperini and I chose the players. There wasnโt a single player who came without his approval. Ziolkowski, Venturino, Zaragoza.โ
He also revealed that Roma didnโt sign Jonathan Rowe because the manager said so, leading to the winger joining Bologna.
โItโs true, we could have signed Rowe, but he wasnโt 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, Iโll stay, otherwise I wonโt. Iโm not acting as anyoneโs guarantor; I love Roma. Just as I stepped aside as coach, I can now act as a senior advisor.โ
In what appeared to be a rant, Ranieri didnโt end there. He then said that Wesley and Malen werenโt the only signings Gasperini approved and others need to be spoken of as his signings too.
โItโs true that we brought Malen and Wesley, but we also brought all the others. Many were injured and there were other issues. Itโs too easy to say Malen and Wesley. We also chose Ferguson and we wasted time on Sancho, who then didnโt want to come. Some players the coach didnโt like, and we didnโt bring them. Letโs bring these players, but with the FFP issue, we had to bring in a lot of players on loan.โ
โThis means we brought in some players on loan, then some are from Roma like Wesley and Malen, and others maybe arenโt at that level. Never mind, we brought them in on purpose. Havenโt they settled in or arenโt they good enough? Letโs change them.โ
He also took another shot at Gasperini, pointing out there is a lack of unity at the club and this wasnโt the case when he was manager.
โLast 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.
โToday, 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.โ
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.
ย
ย
ย
ย
Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
