Prospective Everton owner sacked Roma coach 'before getting to dressing room' in brutal phone call
Johnny Carey was infamously sacked as Everton manager by John Moores while riding with him in a London taxi, but the club’s prospective next owner Dan Friedkin has reportedly dismissed Roma’s head coach by mobile phone – before he could even get back to the changing rooms! Ivan Juric was axed by Roma after less than two months in charge following their 3-2 home defeat to Bologna on Sunday.
Roma Press cites Monday’s edition of Il Tempo as stating that following the full-time whistle, the Croatian headed for the home dressing room at the Stadio Olimpico but before he could even get to his players, his phone rang with Roma president Friedkin on the other end of the line with the American owner personally informing Juric of his sacking.
The 49-year-old, who might now choose to turn his phone off while working in the future, was previously in charge of Torino for three years and won four, drew three and lost five of his games in the post. The result leaves Roma, who finished sixth last season, 12th in the Serie A table with 13 points from 12 matches.
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A club statement read: “We would like to thank Ivan Juric for his hard work these past weeks. “He handled a difficult environment with the utmost professionalism, and for that we are grateful. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
“The search for a new head coach has already begun and we expect an announcement in the coming days.”
Juric replaced Roma legend Danielle De Rossi whose dismissal on September 18 just four games into the season, sparked supporter unrest. The former midfielder, who played 616 matches for the club, had himself only been in charge since January and had penned a three-year contract in June.
Prior to that, Friedkin had both hired and then fired Jose Mourinho, despite the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ steering them to glory in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League in 2021/22, Roma’s first European trophy since they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1961. The Houston-based billionaire agreed a deal in September to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire 94.1% stake in Everton and although the Blues’ wantaway majority shareholder has gone through eight managers in as many years at Goodison Park, he has never sacked two in a single season.