After their incredible back-and-forth over the weekend, Claudio Ranieri and Gian Piero Gasperini returned to Roma training, but that was very much it.
Rome outlet Corriere dello Sport claim that the pair both had lunch with the team, but didn’t speak to or acknowledge each other.
What happened at Roma?
The tension comes after a usually calm and collected Ranieri lost his cool with Gasperini’s critique.
The Roma head coach criticised the squad composition and reliance on young players rather than first team ready stars who can contribute.
Ranieri responded by saying that all signings were approved by Gasperini, before sensationally saying that sometimes you have to settle, like when he had ‘three’ coaches he wanted more than Gasperini in the summer ‘didn’t come’.
In their first meeting since the incidents, it’s claimed they were seated a few chairs apart at lunch but didn’t even look at each other.
Gasperini is clearly hurt, while Ranieri believes he has the full support of the Friedkin owners who are yet to comment.
Yet Corriere dello Sport add that the owners are shocked by Ranieri’s handling of the situation.
They also remain convinced of Gasperini’s work, and are desperate to avoid another falling out between coach and director as they experienced with Jose Mourinho and also Daniele De Rossi.
It appears as though the Friedkins will maintain their silence until the end of the season before taking stock, and unless things are resolved, it seems unlikely that Ranieri and Gasperini will continue working together.
What did Ranieri say?
Gasperini made multiple comments about the running of the club, but one seems to trigger Ranieri, which was: ‘thirty players have arrived in the last two years but only four or five men’.
Ranieri responded by saying: “He and I chose the players, there wasn’t one he didn’t approve of or didn’t know would come.
“All we tried to do was give the coach a team that last year came within one point of the Champions League, with many young players to develop.
“We looked at five or six coaches in the summer, but three didn’t come. And in the end, the club decided.”
Gasperini has since said: “I left him free to choose the players I didn’t know.
“I asked for two important players, and one arrived.
“We were losing Shomurodov, and I didn’t know we were losing Saelemaekers too.
“For me, it was crucial to work on the attack. I always insisted on the need to invest up front. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way. Ranieri agreed with me.
“We’ll see each other next week; there have never been any disagreements with him.”
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