'The funeral of Roma' - Italian media react to dramatic Dan Friedkin sacking before Everton takeover
The Italian media have been reacting to prospective Everton owner Dan Friedkin’s sacking of a third Roma coach this year after Ivan Juric was axed after less than two months in charge. A report in Il Tempo claims that the Croatian was personally informed of the decision by Friedkin in a telephone call before he could even reach the dressing room following his side’s 3-2 home defeat to Bologna.
After previously ending takeover talks back in July, the Friedkin Group’s agreement to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire 94.1% came on September 23. Although no timescale has been publicly discussed by either party, sources close to the deal are hopeful that the Friedkin Group should get the green light from the relevant parties, including the Premier League board, by December.
Although the Blues’ wantaway majority shareholder Moshiri has gone through eight managers in as many years at Goodison Park, he has never sacked two in a single season. Here’s a round-up of what’s been written about the drama in the Italian capital...
READ MORE: Prospective Everton owner sacked Roma coach 'before getting to dressing room' in brutal phone call
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An opinion piece in Corriere dello Sport by Ivan Zazzaroni is headlined: “Roma, the day of shame.” He writes: “It had to happen to me, a Bolognese fan of Bologna, to celebrate in the capital’s sports newspaper, the funeral of a Roma.
“Although they were finished on the pitch by goals from Castro, Orsolini and Karlsson, this was the death of a non-idea, of non-management, of a way of doing football that no longer has any reason to exist.
“I breathe in all the confusion and desperation of a people. And then I hope that someone will show the Friedkins the face of their mistakes, the tangible result of their continuous and incomprehensible absences.
“I do not include Juric in this but rather the little boy, framed by the cameras at the Olimpico, so stunned that he couldn’t even cry. Or that of a fifty-year-old who, after Dallinga’s strike to make it 3-1, which is then cancelled out due to a handball, looks around chasing a reason that he refuses.
“There is no need for shouted words or loud headlines today: they could trigger new irritation and other errors from Americans, and not the reflection that leads to a solution. Since last June the Friedkins haven’t had one:
“I'm reminded of Mourinho’s dismay when, after the Europa League final and a quick visit from Dan to Setubal, he remained for around eighty days, eighty-three to be precise, without only one contact. In all his years, something like this had never happened to him.
“Football is presence, even emotional participation, it is responsibility, for the Roman fan it is a religion: it is not a normal company, it is a social phenomenon that demands attention, care, especially in moments of difficulty. Because the sport knows how to be ruthless and reserve the worst even for billionaires illuminated by the light of their entrepreneurial successes.
“Football doesn’t look at anyone. Now I ask: who chooses the next coach?
“Who, in this Roma, has the knowledge and the necessary competence to be able to carefully and precisely decide on the technical guide capable of restoring serenity and dignity to the team? “Another algorithmist like Charles Gould? Or an organisation like CAA that owns the two largest prosecutorial agencies in the world?
“The Friedkins must stay, of course, but let them try to come down to earth: Roma cannot be managed from a plane. PS. Lampard no, thanks.”
In Tuttosport, Dario Machetti’s piece is headlined: “Like Mourinho or Dybala: Roma, after Juric the surprise coup is ready.”
Claiming it’s never been this bad for Roma in 20 years, he writes: “There is total chaos around the Giallorossi club because it was already clear on the eve of the match that yesterday would be Juric’s last match. The coach declared: ‘I have a clear conscience,’ but then refused to speak before kick-off on the decisions to leave Pellegrini and Dybala out of the squad, officially due to injury, even if the problems were not confirmed by the players’ entourages.
“Added to this is a climate around the team that has been unsustainable for months, precisely since Daniele De Rossi’s farewell. The peak, however, was reached yesterday when Roma, down by a goal at half-time, saw the Olimpico begin to empty.”
Andrea Pugliese attempts to wrap things up in Gazzetta dello Sport with an article headlined: “Roma, the puzzle after Juric: Mancini in pole, Garcia hypothesis. The new CEO this week.” He writes: “It ended as everyone had thought for some time, except those who really had to understand it, the Friedkins.
“It ended badly, as it couldn’t have been worse, with the fastest dismissal in history, with the club’s note arriving at 5.27pm, about half an hour after the end of Roma-Bologna. The fact is that since yesterday Ivan Juric is no longer the Giallorossi coach.
“Yet another slip was fatal, yet another fool, the 3-2 home defeat against Bologna in a desolate Olimpico, with the Roma fans who immediately booed the Croatian and ended with the supporters’ strike. With flags lowered and silence, plus a lot people who left the stadium along the way.
“Juric had understood everything for some time, so much so that already after Verona he had told the players that he had two games left. Yesterday before the match he preferred not to speak, knowing full well that his fate was already sealed.
“So much so that in a ‘ministry’ like Roma usually is, the statement arrived almost immediately after the knockout. Proving that the decision had already been made.”