Gian Piero Gasperini takes shot at Roma sporting director after Ranieri sacking | OneFootball

Serie A side sacked Claudio Ranieri from the position of the chief advisor today but it doesn’t seem like this has spelled the end of chaos in the Italian capital.

Manager Gian Piero Gasperini was publicly at loggerheads with Ranieri, spoke at a press conference today. He addressed the elephant in the room, while also talking about his relationship with sporting director Ricky Massara.

Describing the trust the Roma ownership have in him, the Italian said: “The statement highlights two things. The trust the club has always shown me since day one and that Roma is ahead of everything:”

Gasperini also addressed his desire to be a more English-style manager, as tacticians operate in a much different manner in Italian football.

The Italian said: “Teamwork is essential; more than ever, even in the transfer market, the coach must fulfill his role by working alongside the sporting director. I’m starting to think that the sporting director and the coach should be jointly responsible, they should work together.”

“Very often, however, the sporting director would call other coaches, or the coach would have to call the players. The owners also need to be involved. Teamwork is crucial: you need to understand the sporting directors’ difficulties, as well as the coaches’ needs. The sole objective remains to improve the team.”

Beyond that, he was also asked about his relationship with Massara, whose future in Rome has been in doubt amidst all the speculation around Ranieri.

Gasperini said: “I don’t know. Ricky’s a good guy, but We haven’t managed to find the right connection. There Was never anything personal, though; it Was all about the team. Can we continue together? The owners will decide, not me.”

Offering details about his relationship with the sporting director, he said: “I’ve always left him free to do so. I’ve always said that if I liked certain players, I should sign them, even if I didn’t know them. I only asked for offensive reinforcements; it wasn’t anything extraordinary.”

“I never vetoed anything else. Absolutely not. When you say ‘shared, yes, but it wasn’t anything major: I never denied anyone the right to do their job. My focus was on improving the team: was that so difficult to achieve? Period.”

The last few weeks have been difficult in general for Roma, having won only three games since the start of February.

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN