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Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Why Gian Piero Gasperini Could Be The Perfect Appointment At AS Roma
AS Roma new coach Gian Piero Gasperini poses with the Sports Director Florent Ghisolfi and Claudio ... More Ranieri at Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini on June 06, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images) Earlier this month, AS Roma delivered arguably the biggest coup of the summer as they appointed Gian Piero Gasperini as their new Head Coach. Having overseen a stunning revolution at Atalanta, the Giallorossi will be hoping the 67-year-old can deliver similar results in the capital. 'Gasperini's career is defined by its creative tactics, dedication to hard work, and exceptional player development,' read a statement on the club's official website. 'Both Ownership and Claudio Ranieri believe Gasperini is the right man for the mission. Welcome to the Club Mister!' The decision to turn to the Turin native was forcibly driven by Ranieri, who retired this summer and moved from the Roma bench into a role as a director and advisor to the owners. It was further endorsed in a statement from Dan and Ryan Friedkin, the principal owners of the club who spoke glowingly about the man chosen to lead the Giallorossi over the next few seasons. 'Roma's journey continues with the appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini as their new coach,' they said. 'A coach with great experience, personality and vision. His footballing philosophy, deep work ethic and ability to develop talent align perfectly with the identity and ambitions of AS Roma. 'We believe he is the right coach for this moment and the right leader for what is to come.' Arriving at a club who had no fewer than three different managers last term, Roma found themselves as low as 15th in the Serie A table shortly after Ranieri's arrival. Yet the former Chelsea and Leicester boss galvanised his hometown club, the side rallying into form and losing just once in the second half of the campaign. Desperately needing to maintain stability, they have turned to a man who was by some distance the longest tenured Coach in Italy. Gasperini spent nine years at Atalanta, transforming them from a side who had spent much of their existence yo-yoing between Serie A and Serie B. Indeed, the team from Bergamo boasts the record for most promotions to Italy's top flight with 13, but became a completely different club under Gasperini's stewardship. Qualification for the UEFA Champions League brought with it the kind of financial windfall that allowed Atalanta to buy and renovate their stadium. Gasperini oversaw three consecutive third-place finishes in Serie A, consistently delivering the vast revenue that comes with a place in European football's elite competition, while his player development also brought high profile transfers. As discussed in this previous column, Atalanta have generated €521 million ($565.01 million) in player sales since the start of the 2019/20 season. That represents the eighth highest figure in all of European football, while their spending on players over the same period (€370 million/$401.25 million) gives them a transfer balance of +€152 million ($164.84 million). Despite losing out in three Coppa Italia finals, Gasperini finally brought silverware to a club that had not won a trophy since 1963. The 2024 Europa League triumph served as vindication that the Coach could deliver tangible success, collecting his first ever winners' medal. But now he has made the jump to Roma, the man himself has explained that his arrival will not lead to instant transformation. According to their most recent financial reports, the club posted losses of €66 million ($72 million), which Gasperini admitted will affect them as they look to improve the squad. 'I had my first contact with Claudio Ranieri, and he described to me the reality of this team and the club,' he said. 'Then I met the owners, people who have a lot of passion and have ambitious projects that they have struggled to achieve so far. 'They want to create something strong and constructive with me, and we talked about knowing what the financial fair play situation is. They want to invest in Roma, and do it well in order to take Roma to the top. 'But if Napoli has won two championships in three years, and Paris has become the capital of European football, it means that you can't just get results in Milan or Turin.' However, the new boss was also keen to point out that those results will not be immediate. 'You can't make plans for the next 10 years in a place like Roma, we have to be faster and be more concrete,' Gasperini continued. 'The best result will be qualification to the Champions League. 'Right now, Roma can't win the Scudetto, but you never know. For me, the goal is to make this team stronger, with more national and international players that we don't have at the moment. We have to create a strong core and have continuity. That makes teams grow.' With the knowledge, experience and ability to deliver on those words, there is no doubt that the Giallorossi are in good hands. As he proved at Atalanta, Gian Piero Gasperini is Italian football's best Coach, and it is up to him to bring the success to AS Roma that their fans crave.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Roma not aiming for Serie A title 'but you never know', says Gasperini
Gian Piero Gasperini said Tuesday he does not expect Roma can challenge for the Serie A title in his first season after leaving Atalanta "but you never know". The 67-year-old has replaced local hero Claudio Ranieri in the Roma dugout and is gunning for a first top-four finish since 2018. Advertisement "Our best result would be Champions League qualification. Right now Roma can't win the Scudetto but you never know," Gasperini told reporters. "My goal is to make this team better... create a strong core group of players who can give us consistency, and form the basis into which the following season you can add more players who raise the level. That's the first thing I'm aiming for." Gasperini turned Bergamo club Atalanta from provincial also-rans in the shadow of the Milan giants down the road to one of Italy's best teams and even Europa League winners last year. He signed a three-year contract with Roma, one of Italy's biggest clubs with a large and passionate support but who have only won Serie A three times, the last coming exactly 24 years ago on Tuesday. Advertisement They have been overtaken by fierce rivals Napoli whose recent Scudetto triumph took their tally to four, and two in the past three seasons. Roma finished fifth last season and missed out on the Champions League on the final day of the campaign after Ranieri came out of retirement to drag them away from near the relegation places. Gasperini chose Roma over Juventus who tried to convince him to move to Turin after failing to snatch club icon Antonio Conte from Napoli. - Roma changes - Ranieri will work alongside Gasperini and Roma's American owners the Friedkin Group, and he confirmed to reporters that sporting director Florent Ghisolfi will be replaced. Advertisement "The club is assessing a few names, you will know as soon as possible the next sporting director," said Ranieri. Gasperini is a spiky character prone to angry outbursts at journalists and he will have to deal with both an expectant, highly-strung fan base and an intense media environment in the Italian capital. There are a slew of radio stations, websites and even a daily newspaper entirely dedicated to Roma, which have caused bust-ups with previous coaches and can create enormous pressure if results are not good. "Ever since I arrived people have been warning me about the atmosphere here in Rome, that it's a difficult place to obtain yor goals, football-wise, for a whole different range of reasons," said Gasperini. Advertisement "I believe that this should be a strength rather than a weakness. There are a lot of you, and then people talk about the radio stations and the pressure. "What I see is great enthusiasm, a great passion for football and a huge desire to reach certain goals. I think all that energy needs to be channelled in the right direction." Roma begin their first Serie A season under Gasperini with the visit of Bologna, currently scheduled for Sunday August 24, while the first Rome derby of the season comes in the fourth week of the campaign. td/ea
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The reasons behind Ghisolfi's possible farewell
After a long transition period, Roma could lose two key figures from its current management. Lawyer Lorenzo Vitali, interim CEO after Souloukou's exit, and Florent Ghisolfi, the club's sporting director, are both said to be at risk. Advertisement Ghisolfi's position is particularly delicate. According to Il Messaggero, the Friedkin ownership did not appreciate the way the negotiations for the renewal of Mile Svilar were handled, which was resolved only thanks to the intervention of Claudio Ranieri. Furthermore, the failed transfer of Angeliño to Al Hilal, which seemed to be finalized, has also earned him a lot of criticism. Faced with these uncertainties, Frederic Massara has been linked as Ghisolfi's replacement – Massara previously worked at Trigoria during the Pallotta era and recently concluded a short-lived chapter at Stade Rennais.


Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Desperate Italy Bucking the Trend of Picking More Established Coaches With Hiring of Gattuso
It used to be that the coach of Italy's soccer team was someone who had a long list of managerial achievements and was nearer to the end of a career than the start. Not so with Gennaro Gattuso. But these are desperate times for Italy, the four-time champion that is facing a real possibility of failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3–0 to Norway, and when Claudio Ranieri rejected the job, the Italian federation turned to Gattuso – a member of the last Azzurri squad to win the World Cup in 2006. The hope is that the 47-year-old Gattuso can transmit the same level of combativeness and determination that he used to display as a gritty midfielder to a group of players who have shown more willingness to sweat it out for the clubs paying their contracts than the national team. Never mind that Gattuso has won only one trophy in his 12-year coaching career: an Italian Cup with Napoli five years ago. Because wherever he's gone, he has had a no-nonsense and no-filter approach at a series of clubs in crisis. So it's hard to imagine Gattuso dealing with Francesco Acerbi's refusal of an Italy call-up for the Norway game in the same manner that Spalletti did – by mostly brushing it off. When Gattuso didn't like the way he was being portrayed in the Greek media as coach of financially struggling club Crete in 2014, he lashed out in a verbal tirade during a memorable news conference. 'I didn't come here for (a) holiday,' he said then. 'One year here is 10 years in another club. And this is good for me.' Gattuso then resigned at Crete before he was convinced to change his mind and return a day later. At his next job with Pisa, he and Foggia counterpart Roberto De Zerbi nearly came to blows in a heated argument during a playoff win to earn promotion to Serie B after Gattuso was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from the stands. And just last season at Croatian club Hajduk Split, Gattuso removed star player Ivan Perisic from the team for disciplinary reasons. As a player, too, Gattuso never shied away from standing up to the biggest names. During the match in which he scored his only international goal – against England in 2000 – a 22-year-old Gattuso criticized David Beckham for alleged diving, telling the famous midfielder directly to his face, 'This is not a swimming pool.' While financial details were not announced, Gattuso was reportedly given only a one-year contract with Italy worth 800,000 euros (slightly under 1 million). But the deal includes a 1 million euro (1.16 million) bonus if Italy qualifies for the World Cup, Italian media reported. Gattuso won't be on his own. Former Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon remains the squad's team manager. Leonardo Bonucci, the former defender who was captain of the squad that Gattuso coached at AC Milan, will be an assistant coach. Andrea Barzagli, another member of the 2006 team, appears set to be named coach of Italy's under-20 or under-21 squad. And Cesare Prandelli, who coached Italy to the final of the 2012 European Championship, is being tipped to take charge of the federation's development of young talents. Gattuso's debut will come against Estonia in September.

Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Desperate Italy bucking the trend of picking more established coaches with hiring of Gattuso
ROME (AP) — It used to be that the coach of Italy's soccer team was someone who had a long list of managerial achievements and was nearer to the end of a career than the start. Not so with Gennaro Gattuso. But these are desperate times for Italy, the four-time champion that is facing a real possibility of failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 to Norway and when Claudio Ranieri rejected the job, the Italian federation turned to Gattuso — a member of the last Azzurri squad to win the World Cup in 2006. The hope is that the 47-year-old Gattuso can transmit the same level of combativeness and determination that he used to display as a gritty midfielder to a group of players who have shown more willingness to sweat it out for the clubs paying their contracts than the national team. Never mind that Gattuso has won only one trophy in his 12-year coaching career: an Italian Cup with Napoli five years ago. Because wherever he's gone, he has had a no-nonsense and no-filter approach at a series of clubs in crisis. So it's hard to imagine Gattuso dealing with Francesco Acerbi's refusal of an Italy call up for the Norway game in the same manner that Spalletti did — by mostly brushing it off. Verbal tirade at Crete When Gattuso didn't like the way he was being portrayed in the Greek media as coach of financially struggling club Crete in 2014, he lashed out in a verbal tirade during a memorable news conference. 'I didn't come here for (a) holiday,' he said then. 'One year here is 10 years in another club. And this is good for me.' Gattuso then resigned at Crete before he was convinced to change his mind and return a day later. At his next job with Pisa, he and Foggia counterpart Roberto De Zerbi nearly came to blows in a heated argument during a playoff win to earn promotion to Serie B after Gattuso was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from the stands. And just last season at Croatian club Hajduk Split, Gattuso removed star player Ivan Perisic from the team for disciplinary reasons. Confronting Beckham As a player, too, Gattuso never shied away from standing up to the biggest names. During the match in which he scored his only international goal — against England in 2000 — a 22-year-old Gattuso criticized David Beckham for alleged diving, telling the famous midfielder directly to his face, 'This is not a swimming pool.' Qualifying bonus While financial details were not announced, Gattuso was reportedly given only a one-year contract with Italy worth 800,000 euros (slightly under $1 million). But the deal includes a 1 million euro ($1.16 million) bonus if Italy qualifies for the World Cup, Italian media reported. Teammates from 2006 Gattuso won't be on his own. Former Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon remains the squad's team manager. Leonardo Bonucci, the former defender who was captain of the squad that Gattuso coached at AC Milan, will be an assistant coach. Andrea Barzagli, another member of the 2006 team, appears set to be named coach of Italy's under-20 or under-21 squad. And Cesare Prandelli, who coached Italy to the final of the 2012 European Championship, is being tipped to take charge of the federation's development of young talents. Gattuso's debut will come against Estonia in September. ___ AP soccer: