Claudio Ranieri turns 75, career and victories of the former Roma and Leicester coach
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ROMAN ROOTS AND YEARS AS A FOOTBALLER
Before becoming Sir Claudio, the great coach that everyone knows, Claudio Ranieri spent a good career as a defender. Raised in the youth team of Roma, his favorite team with which he debuted in Serie A under the guidance of Manlio Scopigno, he found his footballing consecration in Catanzaro. In Calabria he became a flagship of the club, collecting 128 appearances in the top flight between 1976 and 1982 before concluding his journey on the green rectangle wearing the shirts of Catania and Palermo
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THE BEGINNINGS IN PANGHINA AND THE SARDINIAN FAIRYTALE
In 1986 he hung up his boots to begin his adventure as a coach at Vigor Lamezia. His first feat, however, was accomplished with the rossoblù colours: hired by Cagliari in 1988 in C1, Ranieri dragged the Sardinians to a double consecutive promotion up to Serie A, then obtaining a miraculous salvation in 1991. It was the beginning of a visceral love with Sardinia that would last forever
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THE ITALIAN CONSECRATION IN NAPLES AND FLORENCE
The excellent work done in Cagliari attracted the attention of post-Maradona Napoli, which Ranieri skilfully guided until they qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1992. He subsequently moved to Fiorentina who were relegated to Serie B: not only did he immediately bring the Viola back to the top flight, but in 1996 he won his first major trophies by lifting the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup with the lily team, driven by the goals of Gabriel Batistuta
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THE FIRST TRIP ABROAD: SPAIN AND CHELSEA
In 1997 he began his long European journey. He arrived at Valencia, where he won the Copa del Rey in 1999, before a brief spell at Atlético Madrid. In 2000 he landed in the Premier League to coach Chelsea. In London he shaped the Blues, laying the foundations of the future stellar squad of the Abramovich era and achieving a prestigious second place in the league and a Champions League semi-final in 2004. In the same year he returned to Valencia to win a historic European Super Cup
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THE RETURN TO ITALY AND THE RECORD OF FOUR DERBYS
Returning to his homeland in 2007, he performed a miracle by saving Parma, and then sat on the benches of the big names in Italian football: Juventus, Inter and Roma. It was precisely with his beloved Roma that he came close to winning an epic championship in 2010. Over the following years, also sitting on the Sampdoria bench, Ranieri established a unique record: he was the only coach to have played in the four main Italian derbies (Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa).
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THE QUEST OF THE CENTURY: THE LEICESTER MIRACLE
On 2 May 2016 the name of Claudio Ranieri definitively enters the legend of contemporary football. At the helm of Leicester, a team that started with the sole objective of saving itself and was priced at 5,000 to 1 by bookmakers, he accomplished the most incredible feat of the modern era by winning the Premier League. Accompanied by the catchphrase "dilidin dilidon", he was elected FIFA Coach of the Year and appointed Grand Officer of the Italian Republic, becoming "Sir Claudio" for the entire football world
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THE LAST ROSSOBLÙ MASTERPIECE AND THE BRIEF GOODBYE TO THE BENCH
After having coached Monaco (brought back to Ligue 1), Nantes and Fulham abroad, Ranieri decided to close the circle of his career on the pitch where it all began. He returns to Cagliari in December 2022: he performs yet another miracle by obtaining promotion to Serie A in the 92nd minute of the playoffs against Bari, then achieving a sensational salvation in May 2024 before announcing his emotional farewell to the club bench
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YET ANOTHER "SUPPORT" TO HIS ROME IN 2024
Demonstrating an unbreakable bond, on November 14, 2024 Ranieri responded to his city's call for the third time. Called by the Friedkin family at a dramatic moment of the season to replace Ivan Juric, the coach from Testaccio agrees to get back into the game despite having previously announced a step back from the clubs. He takes over a Roma team lost in 12th place and leads them to an exciting comeback to fifth place in the league, just a whisker away from the Champions League
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THE NEW INSTITUTIONAL COURSE AT CLUB ITALIA
After an unfortunate managerial period in the Giallorossi, the Roman coach's wealth of experience and inestimable human value convinced the Football Federation to entrust him with a leading role in the project to relaunch Italian football: Ranieri today holds the position of technical director of the FIGC and president of Club Italia. A prestigious institutional role, which allows him to put his wisdom and elegance at the service of the rebirth of all the Italian national teams
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