Roma coach Claudio Ranieri addressed their ongoing coaching search, his future role, and a few more topics in an interview with Il Messaggero.
“I’ll be a senior advisor and not a proper executive, then you can interpret it as you wish. I’ll be a reference point and offer my advice, then the owners will decide. The fans must stay serene, as I won’t flee, but I won’t be anybody’s lightning rod either. If I’m not influential, I’ll go. I perceive myself to be at the center of the project now. The moment I feel sidelined, I’ll bid farewell. The label won’t be important, as long as I’m listened to. I will pay attention to the fact that, if I say something that would be good for the club, it’ll be heard.”
Ranieri stated that he won’t choose the next Roma coach directly.
“It won’t go that way. I’ve compiled a list, with virtues and flaws, and it’s up to Dan and Ryan Friedkin to decide. Director Florent Ghisolfi and I followed the English model and started from seven or eight names and whittled them down to three or four. We have submitted it a while back. I think the governors are very close to choosing. I’m sure it’ll be a good manager. Whoever he is, we should let him work. The lads asked me to stay, but I said no, thank you.”
Ranieri downplayed the buzz about Erik ten Hag, whom Roma hosted last week.
“I know him but have never met him. We surely didn’t dine together. I don’t tell lies. I won’t say whether it’ll be an Italian or a foreign gaffer.”
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |