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Master of Miracles: Ranieri's Final Season Defies The Odds Again
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Master of Miracles: Ranieri's Final Season Defies The Odds Again

Master of Miracles: Ranieri's Final Season Defies The Odds Again

Claudio Ranieri’s CV is quite something. One glance will show you that he has coached giants across the European continent, a list that includes Napoli, Valencia, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus and Monaco.

Upon further inspection, you will find an equally impressive haul of trophies, accolades that the now 73-year-old Italian has earned across an almost 40 year career. His honours include three Serie B titles, a Coppa Italia, the Coppa Del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, and of course the crowning glory of his trophy cabinet, a Premier League winners medal.

However, what a CV cannot depict is the manner in which Ranieri has mapped his way to and from some of the biggest clubs Europe has to offer.

Now manager at AS Roma - his third stint at the club - Ranieri has turned Giallorossi into the form side in Europe's top five leagues. When he took over, they were languishing in 12th, with only three wins from their first 12 matches

It was a brave choice by Roma, who had never won anything under Ranieri’s guidance, and many were surprised he accepted the role, considering he had retired at the end of the previous season after guiding Cagliari to Serie A survival.

Since his re-appointment, Roma have transformed, brushing aside rivals without breaking sweat, and surging up the table into fifth place. Their 19 games unbeaten run in the league is testament to work that the fan favourite manager has done since his arrival - it is the best run of it’s kind in Europe.

But how has he turned it around in Italy’s capital? Is it a case of third time lucky? Or was this destined to happen, given Ranieri’s history elsewhere?

The Tinkerman

Ranieri first became a well-known figure in European football when he took the job at Chelsea, all the way back in 2000. Remember, this was pre-Roman Abramovich Chelsea, so transfer budgets were depleted, and their annual goal was usually fixed on a top six finish rather than having their eyes on the prize.

Under Ranieri’s hand, Chelsea slowly grew, and of course midway through his tenure, Abramovich arrived, and so too did spending money. Thanks to smart investments, Ranieri bolstered the Blues’ squad, turning them into serious title contenders, capping off his time in West London with a second place finish in 2003/04.

However, despite Chelsea steady rise under the Italian, there were aspects of Ranieri’s approach which saw him criticised during his time in England, none more so than his partiality to full-scale changes, earning him the now iconic nickname of ‘The Tinkerman’.

At the time, the English media held that if a team was playing well, then changes should be avoided unless absolutely necessary, forced by an injury or suspension. While the Italian showed that rotating the team could be more effective than first thought, his lack of silverware worked against him, and eventually, after a certain Jose Mourinho won the 2004 Champions League with Porto, Abramovich saw the club's future elsewhere.

Managerial Obscurity

As a result of his Chelsea spell, Ranieri impressed several clubs across Europe, and over the next 10 years or so, coached at a host of former European champions and domestic League winners in every league bar except the German Bundesliga over the next decade.

However, here too success was hard to come by, and slowly his stock fell. In 2004/05, he took over reigning Spanish champions Valencia for a second stint in charge, only to finish seventh. It was the same during a two year spell with Juventus. They had been crowned champions in 2006, but in the following two years with Ranieri in charge, they could only manage third and second.

Most significantly, after Jose Mourinho was poached by Real Madrid in 2011, Ranieri took his place at Inter Milan, who had just two months previously been crowned champions of Europe. However, the highest he could lead them was fourth, and in March 2012, with the club sat seventh, Ranieri was dismissed.

By this point, offers from top clubs started to dry up, and Ranieri began to slip into mediocrity. He managed Monaco, then in Ligue 2, and took them to the second-tier title in his first season, but by then, clubs had grown wary of the Italian. Once, by the end of his second season in charge, the Italian was gone again.

So, in an attempt to revive his managerial career, he took his first and only international job as head coach of the Greek national team.

However, change of scenery once again failed to bring success, and the appointment didn’t last long. In fact he was there for a measly six months, before a humiliating defeat to the Faroe Island was enough for the Greek FA to tell him to pack his bags.

It seemed that Ranieri was past his best, and it became clear to any club with a managerial vacancy that they would be taking a massive risk should they approach him - it wasn’t worth the risk.

Fantastic Mr Fox

However, Leicester City had no such qualms with approaching Ranieri, and in July 2015, announced him as their new head coach. The Foxes had scraped survival the previous season, avoiding relegation only because of a great escape masterminded by Nigel Pearson, and their goals for 2015/16 was simply to avoid Championship football once again.

Here, Ranieri’s superb, and somewhat unorthodox, man management came into full effect. He had been an excellent leader throughout his career, and could alleviate any pressure that befell his team with ease. But the difference between Leicester and former employers was that the players immediately took to the Italian, and hung on every word.

After their first clean sheet of the season, a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Ranieri rewarded his side with a pizza and champagne night, a move which had duel benefits - the players felt rewarded for their achievement, and the experience would also have been a bonding experience, strengthening the chemistry and relationship between his players.

Stunts like this often punctuated his time at Leicester, and his jovial, positive manner and upbeat outlook even in defeat heavily influenced his side - they clearly felt untouchable with Ranieri at the wheel, and that feeling translated into their performances.

They topped the table for 23 of the 38 gameweeks, and would not relinquish top spot after January 16th, following a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. Ranieri marshalled his team superbly, using a rigid 4-4-2 formation, encouraging Leicester to absorb offence and then launch lightning quick counter-attacks of their own, using the special skills of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.

With class acts all of the field, including a relatively unknown N’Golo Kante and Danish Keeper Kasper Schmeichel, Ranieri plotted Leicester into an unassailable lead at the top of the league, and once the final whistle blew in the “Battle of Stamford Bridge”, where rivals Tottenham fell to a 2-2 draw, the league title was sealed.

In the most improbable of circumstances, in the hardest league in the world, with a manager supposedly past his prime, Leicester City had won the Premier League, which to this day is still regarded as one of the greatest sporting feats in history, across any field.

Though Ranieri was dismissed early the next season after a poor start to their unlikely title defence, he had written himself into footballing folklore, and broken his major League Title duck in the process.

2016 - Present

Though his time at Leicester didn’t have a fairytale ending, English fans across divisions admired Ranieri for his achievement, and after a year in France managing Nantes, the now legendary Italian returned to England, this time to take the helm at Fulham.

He would also be given the reins at Watford in 2021, and spells at Roma and Sampdoria kept him busy, though were short of the success he had in England.

On January 1st 2023, he took charge of Cagliari marking a fairytale return for both the club and the manager. Cagliari had taken a chance on appointing Ranieri way back in 1988, and in achieving consecutive promotions from Serie C to Serie A, gave him his first big break as a manager.

Taking over when the team sat 14th in Serie B, Ranieri orchestrated a remarkable reversal of form, losing just twice in 24 games, and on the final day of the season, Ranieri added a third Serie B title to his resume. He had taken the club to the Italian top flight for the second time, and his reaction to the title win made it clear how much it meant to him.

In an interview six months after taking charge, Ranieri stated that he expected Cagliari to be his final club before retirement. The Italian’s love a romance story, and fuelled by the later announcement that the club icon would depart at the end of the 2023/24 season, they geared up in their fight for survival.

On the penultimate matchday, a 2-0 win over Sassuolo saw them secure their status as a Serie A club, and Ranieri’s romantic return to the club that started it all was complete. He resigned as coach after the final matchday, and many thought that was the last we would ever see of him.

One can only speculate at what persuaded him to come out of retirement - perhaps the fact that he had managed Roma twice previously, and this presented him with potentially another amorous farewell.

Whatever the case, Ranieri was named Roma head coach for the third time in November of 2024, inheriting a squad full of potential but marred by internal issues.

The Tinkerman's signature man management skills came to the fore once again - his unique approach helped the team gel, and they slowly became accustomed to his tactics. This time employing a three at the back system (chopping and changing between a 3-4-2-1 and a 3-4-1-2), Roma slowly came roaring back up the Serie A table, and as of the time of writing, sit fifth.

The fact that he has managed to drag Roma from mid-table mediocrity to within a point of Champions League football is remarkable enough. But having reiterated that this summer he will retire for good, it would be even more remarkable to finish his career in such a stunning swansong.

Ranieri had been a popular figure throughout his time at the top of the game, but following his title win with Leicester, he has become nothing short of a footballing deity. So it is only right that someone we all love, respect and admire should go out having worked another miracle, the very ability that saw him, against all odds, make a success out of a career that appeared over a decade ago.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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