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Tag: Roma

  • Brighton striker Ferguson joins Roma on loan

    Brighton striker Ferguson joins Roma on loan

    Striker Evan Ferguson has joined Italian side Roma on a season-long loan from Brighton.

    The Republic of Ireland international is attempting to rebuild his career after injury and a loss of form resulted in him dropping down the pecking order at the Seagulls.

    “Evan had a challenging period across the past season and a half, and it has been one disrupted by niggling injury issues,” said Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler.

    “He really wants to play regularly and this is an exciting opportunity in a strong league and with the prospect of European football.”

    Ferguson joined West Ham on loan for the second half of last season but made only eight appearances and started once under then manager Graham Potter.

    Ferguson was pictured on social media meeting Roma fans and signing autographs in advance of the move to the Serie A side.

    Read Also: Ferguson praises Dessers over match-winning strike

    The 20-year-old was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award following a stellar 2022-23 campaign, when he scored nine goals and made his senior international bow.

    However, he has scored only one goal at club level since November 2023 and was unlikely to play a significant role under Hurzeler at the start of the current campaign.

  • Ranieri ends retirement to become Roma manager

    Ranieri ends retirement to become Roma manager

    Claudio Ranieri has been appointed head coach of Roma until the end of the season – six months after announcing his retirement.

    Ranieri has also taken on a role advising the Italian club’s owners and will help in the search for a permanent manager.

    At the end of the season the 73-year-old will “transition into a senior executive role”, the club said.

    Ranieri, who has managed his hometown club twice before including a temporary stint in 2019, retired in May after guiding Cagliari to survival.

    His appointment comes after the sacking of Ivan Juric on Sunday.

    Croatian Juric lasted just 12 matches after replacing Daniele de Rossi four games into this season. Former Italy midfielder De Rossi was manager for eight months following the departure of Jose Mourinho in January.

    Ranieri has coached 18 clubs during his 37-year managerial career, as well as the Greece national team.

    Read Also: Watford sacks under-performing Ranieri

    The crowning achievement of his career was the Premier League title he won with Leicester City in 2015-16.

    Roma were linked with former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who recently left his position as Saudi Arabia head coach.

    Despite spending more than £80m during the summer transfer window, Roma are 12th in Serie A with 13 points after 12 games, and are 20th in the Europa League table with five points after four matches.

    Roma’s next Serie A match is at Napoli on 24 November.

    BBC

  • Europa League: Roma hammer Brighton to put one foot in last eight

    Europa League: Roma hammer Brighton to put one foot in last eight

    Roma put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after hammering Brighton 4-0 as Daniele De Rossi dominated his good friend Roberto De Zerbi.

    First-half goals from star strike pairing Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku gave Roma the platform for a convincing last 16, first leg win over their Premier League opponents at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

    Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante completed the rout as Roma continued to love life after Jose Mourinho and with local hero De Rossi.

    A thumping eighth win in 10 matches for De Rossi since replacing Mourinho in January has Roma all-but in the last eight before next week’s second leg in England.

    De Rossi’s coaching style is inspired by De Zerbi who are close friends to the point that their daughters meet in London to watch Roma matches.

    They will have been impressed with what Roma served up in front of their raucous support, who made a huge racket while their team racked up the goals.

    Roma started off on the front foot and could have been ahead with less than three minutes on the clock when Jason Steele did brilliantly to keep out Romelu Lukaku’s close-range header.

    Lukaku scuffed wide shortly afterwards before Evan N’Dicka nearly handed Brighton the lead in the seventh minute by diverting Simon Adingra’s cross onto his own post.

    But Dybala did strike first blood for the hosts in the 13th  minute and it was a brilliant goal.

    Read Also: Roma appoint ex-captain De Rossi after Mourinho sack

    The Argentina forward raced through unopposed to meet Leandro Paredes’ superb through ball before skipping past Steele and rolling home a finish which was initially ruled out for offside but then given after a VAR check to the delight of home fans.

    Roma were much the better team but Danny Wellbeck twice forced excellent saves from Adingra crosses.

    The second stop in first-half stoppage time made sure that Roma were two goals to the good at the break after Lukaku robbed Lewis Dunk and rammed home his second goal in as many games.

    Wellbeck sliced another good chance wide in the 57th  minute and seven minutes later Mancini got on the end of Stephan El Shaarawy’s in swinging cross to poke in Roma’s third.

    Brighton were reeling and Cristante gave De Zerbi’s team a mountain to climb, heading home another pinpoint El Shaarawy cross at the end of a sweeping Roma move which highlighted the difference between the two sides.

    Roma fans went through their song book and dreamed of getting to Dublin in May after already seeing their team get to European finals in the last two seasons.

  • Roma appoint ex-captain De Rossi after Mourinho sack

    Roma appoint ex-captain De Rossi after Mourinho sack

    Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Roma manager and replaced by the club’s former captain Daniele de Rossi.

    Mourinho, 60, took over in May 2021 and led Roma to the Europa Conference League title a year later and the Europa League final in 2023.

    But they are ninth in Serie A, five points off the Champions League places, and last week were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.

    Former midfielder De Rossi will replace Mourinho until the end of the season.

    The club legend, 40, came through Roma’s academy and played 616 times for the first team between 2001 and 2019.

    Read Also: Jose Mourinho sacked as Roma manager

    De Rossi retired in 2020 and has since had one spell as manager – a 17-game tenure at Serie B club SPAL which ended with the Italian’s sacking last February.

    “We believe that the leadership and ambition that have always characterised him can be decisive in chasing the objectives that the team has ahead of it until end of the season,” said Roma’s owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin.

    “We knew the indissoluble bond that unites Daniele to the club, but the enthusiasm with which he immediately accepted this challenge… further convinced us of his ability to be a guide for the players and a proud representative of the values ​​of this club.”

    BBC

  • BREAKING! Heartbroken Francesco Totti dumps Roma job

     

    Francesco Totti says that leaving Roma ‘is like dying’ as the club’s legendary former captain announced he is leaving his role as technical director.

    The 42-year-old addressed the media on Monday afternoon in an 85-minute press conference where he explained why he had decided to bring to an end his 30-year relationship with the club.

    Totti said it was a day he ‘hoped never would have come’ but in the end he made the decision having become marginalised behind the scenes by president James Pallotta.

    A large media contingent gathered to hear from an emotional Totti as he explained the issues he faced behind the scenes.

    ‘I sent an email to say something that felt unimaginable. I wrote my resignation. I was hoping this was not necessary, but the fateful day has arrived, which for me is very ugly and painful,’ he said.

    ‘Considering the conditions, it was only right that I made this brusque decision, especially as I never had the chance to work on the technical area with Roma.

    ‘I thought long and hard. Let’s just say it was not my fault that I had to make this decision.

    ‘They knew my intentions and what I wanted, to give so much to this club and team, but they never wanted me to, in all honesty. They excluded me from every decision.’

    Totti retired from playing two years ago after 25 seasons with his hometown club and was given the chance to have a management role in the boardroom.

    He led Roma to its last Serie A title in 2001 but has now brought to an end his time with the club.

    Making his senior debut in 1993 as a teenager, Totti went on to score 307 goals in 785 games for the club, establishing himself as a Roma legend.

    Speaking openly about his departure, Totti explained how club bosses made him retire and also dictated how his role would have little to no influence on the football side of operations.

    He added: ‘Everyone knows they made me stop playing. They wanted me to stop. I had a six-year contract already as a director.

    ‘I started quietly, realising it’s a completely different sphere to being on the field.

    ‘Many promises were made and they were never kept. They knew what I wanted.

    Former Shakhtar Donestk manager Paulo Fonseca has taken charge and will be tasked with restoring the club to the top table in Italy after a difficult time of it in recent seasons.

     

     

  • Olympic Bronze Medallists Umar Sadiq set for Roma return

     

    Former Nigeria U-23 ace Umar Sadiq could get an opportunity for a return to Roma following the appointment of a new manager by the Italian club. The Serie A side confirmed the appointment of Paulo Fonseca as their new manager on Tuesday.

    The former Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga handler replaces Claudio Ranieri who had interim stint in charge towards the end of last season.

    ‘We are delighted to welcome Paulo Fonseca to the club,’ said Roma president Jim Pallotta.

    ‘Paulo is a young and ambitious coach with international experience, a winning mentality and a reputation for bold, attacking football that will excite our fans.

    ‘From the very first conversations we had with him, he made it very clear he wanted to come to Roma and was excited about the challenge of working with our players and putting out a team that the fans can be proud of.’

    The 46-year-old manager said: ‘I am very pleased to be appointed the head coach of AS Roma.

    ‘I want to thank the club’s management for the opportunity they have given me. I am excited and motivated by the task ahead of us.

    ‘I cannot wait to move to Rome, meet our fans and get started. Together, I believe we can create something special.’

    Sadiq was part of Nigeria’s U-23 side that won Bronze at the Rio Olympic in 2016 joined Roma in 2016 from Serie B side Spezia initial on loan before the move was made permanent for a fee of £2 million.

    He completed his first season at Roma scoring 2 goals in 6 Serie A appearances. He has however been on the road on the loan since then, from Bologna to Torino, NAC Breda, Rangers and Perugia. His loan deal to Serie B side Perugia expires on 30th of June 2019.

    Sadiq who scored four goals in his six appearances for the U-23 side has made combined 40 appearances for the six different clubs he has played for so far.

    The coming of a new manager just few days to the expiration of his loan sojourn at Perugia could see him finally return to Roma.

    The new Roma manager is known for his attacking style of football, an indication that fans of the side will be seeing a more mobile side going into the new season.  Roma finished sixth last term and will be expected to do far better next season.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Unattached Mourinho gives condition for Roma job

     

    Jose Mourinho has been ‘offered a three-year deal’ to take charge at Roma, but the special one is not one to accept an offer without conditions.

    The former Manchester United boss has been on the job hunt since his sacking last December and the Serie A side are front-runners as it stands.

    According to L’Equipe, the Portuguese will only take up the role if Roma qualify for next season’s Champions Lea

    The capital city club are currently fifth, one point off Atalanta in the final spot for next year’s competition.

    There are still four games to play so Roma have every chance of sneaking into the top four, drastically increasing the chances of Mourinho taking charge having had ‘multiple meetings’.

    As it stands Claudio Ranieri is the interim manager in the Eternal City until the end of the season.

    They are not the first club to chase Mourinho’s services since his departure from Old Trafford.

    Former side Inter Milan also made an approach but PSG are considered the most likely alternative to Roma as it stands.

    Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has also held talks with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who has been out of work since being sacked from his post at Stamford Bridge.

    Talks between Mourinho and Roma have been progressing well, and he is eager to get back into management with a club that will back his philosophy and show patience.

    His relationship with key players in the dressing room at Manchester United soured, particularly Paul Pogba.

    And after a poor run of form, culminating in the 3-1 defeat by rivals Liverpool at Anfield last December, Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford came to an abrupt end.

    No doubt he’ll be desperate to reestablish himself as one of the greatest managers of his generation in his next role.

    Jose who turned 56 in January has coached seven clubs in the course of his coaching career with two time sojourn at the Stamford Bridge.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Oscar 2019: ‘The Favourite’, ‘Roma’ lead nominations

    The full list of nominees in all 24 categories of the 91st Academy Awards has been unveiled.

    The Oscar hopeful list was released live on Tuesday morning by Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross, with ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Roma’ leading the pack.

    ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Roma’ both have 10 nominations each, while ‘A Star is Born’, ‘Vice’ and ‘Black Panther’ each scored eight nominations.

    Also, eight movies were nominated for Best Picture this year, including ‘Black Panther’, ‘BlacKkKlansman’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Favourite’,’Green Book’, ’Roma’, ‘A Star is Born’ and ‘Vice’.

    In its 91st edition, the annual Academy Awards will air on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT on ABC.

     

  • Madrid eye champions league consolidation against Roma

     

    Real Madrid were suited and booted as they jetted off to Italy on Monday morning ahead of their return to Champions League action this week.

    The reigning champions touched down in the Italian capital in the afternoon as they chase qualification to the last 16 from Group G.

    Victory over last year’s semi-finalists Roma at the Stadio Olimpico will confirm Real’s progress and see them become outright leaders of the group.

    Santiago Solari will be looking for his side to bounce back after they suffered defeat in his first game in permanent charge since replacing Julen Lopetegui.

    They were beaten 3-0 away at La Liga minnows Eibar on Saturday, their fifth defeat of the season already. The Santiago landlords appear however to have pushed the weekend and indeed other recent defeats to aside to set eyes on Champions league challenge

    Real are sixth in the table and six points behind surprise leaders Sevilla in an unpredictable season so far.

    But their form in Europe has been far better, a shock reverse away at CSKA Moscow aside.

    The 5-0 victory at Viktoria Plzen has put them in pole position to qualify from the group stage and continue on their quest for an unprecedented fourth successive European Cup triumph.

    In the reverse fixture at the start of the group stage Real emerged victorious. Goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and Mariano gave them a 3-0 win at the Bernabeu.

     

    The Spanish side remains a huge force in the Champions league despite submission in some quarters that the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo may have affected the fortune of the club.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Scandal: Champions league semi final draw fixed?

     

    *Roma sells ticket versus Liverpool before draw

    It is no longer news that the Semi final fixtures of this year’s Champions league has been announced with Roma pitched against Liverpool and Real Madrid pitched against Bayern Munich.

    But the big question on the lips of soccer pundits and fans across the globe now is; could the pairing have been fixed?

    Has there been some element of rigging in the process?  The queries are propping up following reports that Roma who against all permutations edged out hot favorites Barcelona, in the quarterfinals have already sold Roma versus Liverpool semi final tickets before the Friday draws were announced.

    SUSPICIOUS fans fear the Champions League draw was fixed as Roma advertised tickets BEFORE Liverpool were announced as their opponents.

    The Italian side appeared to offer supporters the chance to purchase home seats against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Thursday night.

    Roma accidentally offered supporters the chance to buy tickets to face Liverpool on June 2

    The website error was quickly taken down, but not before eagle-eyed viewers grabbed a screenshot of the tie supposedly taking place on May 2. They then drew the Reds in the draw in Nyon on Friday afternoon. Liverpool are, in fact, due to face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on May 2.

    Conspiracy theories are storming social media with fans fearing some sort of corruption.

    So. Roma knew yesterday that they’d be playing Liverpool as they advertised tickets on their website. But it’s not fixed of course.

    If this is true, it’s a sad day for football, roma’s website selling tickets for the Champions leauge semi final a day before the draw is made. Time will tell” Were some of the submissions from worried fans

    One fan wrote: “Never seen something so rigged in my life, Roma selling tickets at 10am this morning against Liverpool away for season ticket holders.”

    Another said: “If this is true, it’s a sad day for football, Roma’s website selling tickets for the Champions League semi-final a day before the draw is made. Time will tell.

    Back-to-back winners Real Madrid will play German giants Bayern Munich in the other semi-final.

    The premature fuelled conspiracy theorists. Just last year Spanish publication AS suggested that Uefa had used a heated ball to avoid an all-Spanish final.