Sunday, February 20, 2011

Resignation Tendered


Immediately following AS Roma's shock loss to Genoa - one which saw the Giallorossi throw away a 3 goal lead - coach Claudio Ranieri tendered his resignation. As a Roma fan, I am relieved.

Last season, Ranieri picked up the pieces of Roma and rolled the dice successfully. He made countless bold moves during the campaign - substituting Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi at halftime in the Derby della Capitale (which is the boldest of moves in any Romanista's eyes) - which nearly won the capital club the Scudetto. But those same ballsy decisions have been the wrong ones this season. Everything decreed by the Tinkerman has worked against the squad and today's game was a prime and final example. Though his time in the capital was short and tumultuous, he must be thanked for his service and lauded for stepping aside when appropriate. True integrity and class.

Now to the future: it looks like Vincenzo Montella, il Aeroplanino and current coach of Roma's youth academy, will take the reins for the rest of the season. I am both excited and frightened by this. Montella is a smart man and has been doing good for Roma's youth team, but might run into some resistance when managing players who were very recently peers. Will egos get in the way? This is Rome...so yes. We can only hope that Montella can cope and see this season to a successful end.

That information aside, will we see Carlo Ancelotti take over at Roma in the summer? The wily tactician has widely stated his desire to coach his former club, where he played from 1979 - 1987. The opportunity to build a trophy winning side is imminent, since new owners will be in control soon. Add to that a world class gaffer with a winning mentality...this could mean big things, Romanisti.

Let's keep our chins up.

2 comments: