Claudio Ranieri said he would give AS Roma’s underachieving players “a shock” after taking over as coach.
The 57-year-old agreed a two-year deal on Tuesday to replace Luciano Spalletti, who quit after the club lost their opening two Serie A games of the season and struggled to reinforce their squad in the transfer market.
“They certainly need a shock because this team needs to react immediately. Maybe the lads have lost a bit of conviction,” Rome-born Ranieri told a news conference yesterday.
With the transfer window closed he has a tough task to reinvigorate Roma, who finished sixth last term having been runners-up and Italian Cup winners in 2007 and last year.
“In the last four years [under Spalletti] this team has done great things, playing some of the most beautiful football in Europe,” added former Juventus and Chelsea coach Ranieri. “I was proud as a Roman to see them play. I can say I’m coming home with a huge desire to do well.”
Ranieri led Juve to third spot in Serie A in 2008 but was replaced by Ciro Ferrara towards the end of last season after a run of bad results.
He acknowledged his style of play might not be as eye-catching as Spalletti’s but was unperturbed by captain Francesco Totti being a dominant figure at the club.
“My philosophy is a little different to Spalletti’s, I will bring my pragmatism to this team. I expect Totti to just be Totti,” Ranieri said.
Ranieri joins a club in turmoil with Roma fans continually protesting against president Rosella Sensi over what they see as her lack of spending power.
The club’s share price was down three percent yesterday.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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