After a disastrous start to the 2024/25 season. AS Roma are already on their third manager. Daniele de Rossi was dismissed after just four matchdays, despite the club backing him with well over €90 million in transfer funds in the summer. The club’s former captain was relieved of his duties after starting the season without a win in four, while his replacement Ivan Jurić has also been sacked following a dismal two months in charge.
In their place comes a familiar face, 74 year-old icon Claudio Ranieri, who returns for a third stint in charge of the Giallorossi. The legendary Italian boss retired at the end of last season after leading his beloved Cagliari to Serie A survival. However, another one of their former clubs — this time the giants from the capital — is in dire need of his services on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Whether the former Chelsea boss can provide an upturn in form like he did 15 years ago remains to be seen. This season, the Eternal City outfit finds itself way down in 12th place in the Serie A table. As such, the latest Serie A odds make them a whopping 500/1 outsider to make a Scudetto charge.
The last time he was charged with revitalizing the Romans however, he was more than up to the task. Here’s what happened.
Rejuvenating the Romans
After losing their first two games of the 2009/10 season to Genoa and Juventus, Roma parted ways with then-manager Luciano Spalletti. In his place came Ranieri, who had done an impressive job at Chelsea a few years prior, vastly increasing his stock. The Italian inherited one of the Giallorossi’s finest-ever squads, with Francesco Totti and Daniele de Rossi both in the starting lineup, as well as the likes of Mirko Vučinić and John Arne Riise also on the books.
With both AC Milan and Juventus — Ranieri’s most recent club before his appointment — both significantly weaker in the immediate aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan were the strongest team in the league. The door was wide open for the Romans to make an impact, however, and the Tinkerman set about doing exactly that.
He adopted a pragmatic 4-2-3-1 formation, with de Rossi anchoring in midfield and the maverick Totti just behind the prolific Vucinic. The results spoke for themselves. Ranieri won three of his first five games in charge before embarking on a three-game losing streak in October. They would only lose one more game all season.
The Streak
From November to April, Roma went on a 24-game unbeaten run in Serie A, a feat that propelled them from mid-table obscurity to genuine title contenders. Throughout the run, there were plenty of impressive victories, with a 1-0 victory against Lazio in the derby and a come-from-behind 2-1 win away at Juventus immediately springing to mind. But the turning point came with their exhilarating 2-1 victory over champions Inter in March.
Roma headed into the contest 21 games unbeaten, and with the clash taking place in the Stadio Olimpico, there was a very real optimism that the hosts could walk away with all three points. Ultimately, that’s exactly what transpired. De Rossi gave his side a first-half lead before poacher Diego Milito equalised for the visitors after the restart. As the game entered the latter stages, giant striker Luca Toni popped up to nod home a late winner to take his side to within one point of the Nerazzurri.
Heartbreak at the Finish Line
Roma won their next three games on the spin, including a comeback victory in the second derby of the season against Lazio courtesy of Vucinic’s second-half double. That left them a point clear at the top of the table with just four games to go. Despite their relentless pursuit and a 24-game unbeaten streak, Roma’s title dream would come crashing down in a home clash against Sampdoria in late April.
With a combination of fatigue, pressure, and a relentless Inter all beginning to take their toll, the Scudetto was in sight. It looked as though their lead at the division’s summit would continue when captain Totti gave Roma a first-half lead. However, defensive lapses in this second half allowed Giampaolo Pazzini to net twice and hand the visitors the victory.
Mourinho’s Inter won and retook the lead in the title race. Both teams would win their three remaining games, meaning the Nerazzurri were crowned champions by just two points. To make matters worse for Ranieri, his team would lose to Inter in the Coppa Italia final, who would also go on to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final to claim a historic treble.
