Official: Claudio Ranieri takes over at Roma

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Claudio Ranieri was not off work for very long after recently being sacked by Fulham. Despite his struggles with the London-based outfit, the Italian tactician has now been appointed as the caretaker manager at Roma after they let go of Eusebio Di Francesco following their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Porto on Wednesday evening. Ranieri will be in charge of the historic Italian club until at least the end of the current campaign.

Ranieri signed his first professional playing contract with the Giallorossi, but only made six appearances for the club as a player in 1973-74. However, he returned to coach the team in September 2009 and nearly led them to a domestic double. Under his leadership, Roma fought for the most prestigious prizes on the peninsula but Ranieri never did end up winning a trophy with them.

He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2016 though, after guiding Leicester City to their first ever English Premier League title in 2015-16. Despite all his accomplishments though, his time at Fulham was short lived having just taken over in November. The club currently find themselves in 19th place in the EPL table, with just 17 points from 29 games and 10 points back from safety.

However, Roma have also failed to live up to expectations throughout the current campaign and the 67-year-old could have quite the daunting task ahead of him trying to steer what appears to be a sinking ship.

The Giallorossi were embarrassed last weekend in the Derby della Capitale as Lazio handed them a 3-0 beating. As a result, they find themselves three points behind Inter for the fourth and final spot in the Champions League next season. A club like Roma depend on the revenue earned from such a prestigious competition and Ranieri's biggest challenge will be ensuring they finish in the top four.

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