The race for Roma’s bench is nearing its conclusion. Months of talks, meetings and rumors are about to give way to the only thing that matters: the final choice. Indeed, the Giallorossi club is ready to make the new coach official soon after the end of the championship. And at the top of the wish list of Claudio Ranieri, now senior advisor to the ownership, has always appeared the name of Gian Piero Gasperini. But now the scenario is changing.
The current Atalanta coach, protagonist of an extraordinary cycle in Bergamo, is linked to the Nerazzurri by an important contract (5 million per year plus bonuses) and a technical project in full maturity. There has been no shortage of contacts with Roma, indeed: negotiations have been going on for months, with phone calls, surveys and confidential discussions on the team’s future. But Gasperini’s demands-between market, role in management and salary-have proved very high, to the point that he now seems closer to renewal with Atalanta than to a farewell.
Meanwhile, other initial candidates are gradually slipping away: Cesc Fabregas will stay at Como, Allegri is in pole for the Napoli bench in case of a divorce with Conte, while Farioli – fresh from his resignation from Ajax – seems destined for a new Premier League experience. And Maurizio Sarri, a free agent but never really on the radar of the Ranieri-Ghisolfi pair, is not warming up the environment.
And so, as the circle tightens, a name has been circulating again for a few days that has fans dreaming: Jurgen Klopp. A hypothesis that is more suggestive than realistic, but not entirely far-fetched. The former Liverpool coach – now global head of the soccer area of the Red Bull group with a 15 million a season salary – would represent a breakthrough choice, capable of generating enthusiasm as it was at the time for the arrival of José Mourinho. Difficult to achieve, sure. But the suggestion exists, fueled by Dan Friedkin’s desire to surprise again by targeting a name off the “reachable” radar.
Meanwhile, anticipation is growing at home in Rome. Will the finale be with a bang? Or will Ranieri and the Friedkins pull a totally new surprise out of the hat? The time for rumors is coming to an end: soon it will be time for action.
Sources: La Repubblica / Il Messaggero / Corriere della Sera / Leggo / Il Tempo
The article Coach Countdown: Friedkins cover the cards, piazza dreams of Klopp comes from Giallorossi.net | AS Roma News, Football and Exclusives.
