Ranieri: ‘Another year with me would be wasted for Roma’ | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri jokes about Roma Champions League ambition and explains why he’s retiring. ‘Another year with me would be a year wasted for Roma. It’s only right I step aside.’

It was a matter of doing the bare minimum to achieve the maximum result at the Stadio Olimpico, as Matias Soulé went on a solo run to set up the Eldor Shomurodov goal at the fourth minute.

That ultimately proved to be enough to see off Hellas Verona 1-0 and keep the unbeaten run going to 12 wins and five draws.

“It was a very difficult match, which we fully expected. Verona are very physical, they press and counter-press, have two very fast strikers who are good at taking men on,” Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.

“We needed to be efficient and we were straight away. It was a marvellous Cristante cross-field pass, Soulé did well, so did Shomurodov. The lads all suffered under pressure the way I liked it, we wanted the three points, we got them, so we can have a nice Easter along with our fans.”

Ranieri won’t close door on Roma dreams

ROME, ITALY – APRIL 19: Manu Kone of AS Roma runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Ondrej Duda of Hellas Verona during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Verona at Stadio Olimpico on April 19, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

This result puts Roma on 57 points, level with Bologna and only two behind fourth-placed Juventus, although those teams do have a game in hand.

The coach had been adamant people should focus on European qualification rather than specifically the Champions League places, saying if they bet even €1 on Roma in the top four, then they would lose.

“I accept all bets! I’ve got a piggybank right here,” laughed Ranieri.

“It’s not easy. It’s one thing to say these lads are doing something extraordinary and we will give it a go. There are dreams, which are fine, there are thoughts, and then there is action. Now we’ve got work to do, as there are some marvellous games coming up, it’s not going to be a walk in the park.

“We want our fans to be happy with our campaign. We’ll give it our all. It started badly, we want it to end well.”

Roma do have a very tough run-in, as their remaining five fixtures are against Inter, Fiorentina, Atalanta, Milan and Torino.

ALKMAAR, NETHERLANDS – JANUARY 23: Head Coach Claudio Ranieri of AS Roma looks on ahead of the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between AZ Alkmaar and AS Roma at AZ Stadion on January 23, 2025 in Alkmaar, Netherlands. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

In just the second half of the season, Roma have been the most successful team in Serie A, so what does that say about this squad that had started so badly under Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric?

“It’s a good group. I am not staying, because the time is right. What we do need is to give the new coach time to understand his squad, shape it, and climb the table,” replied Ranieri.

“Another year with me would be a year wasted for Roma. I do not want Roma to waste time. We have a lot of work to do, so it’s only right that I step aside and a coach arrives who knows what he wants and how to get it.”

Ranieri was asked if he might change his mind if the Friedkin family, who own the club, were to sign those two players they need to challenge for the Scudetto.

“No, I am done. There’s nothing more and it’s already a surprise that I came back for this,” he assured.

Now that Carlo Ancelotti is about to leave Real Madrid, could the list of potential Roma coaches be updated to include the Italian?

“I will not talk about the next coach anymore, I’ve said enough. What I will say is that I will have coffee in my office.”

This is because before Ranieri started the interview, the Sky Sport Italia studio were joking about his new role as director at Roma and whether he’d have an espresso machine in his new office at the Trigoria training ground.