Ranieri: ‘I saw Pellegrini’s Roma desire’ and takes swipe at predecessor | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri reveals what made him realise Lorenzo Pellegrini would decide the derby against Lazio and jokes about his Roma changes. ‘It seemed logical to start two World Cup winners.’

The veteran coach said he didn’t expect to be sitting on the bench for another derby after effectively retiring last summer, but he returned to oversee a memorable 2-0 victory.

His decisions were brave ones, picking Lorenzo Pellegrini when the captain had been struggling psychologically with the pressure of anger from a section of the fans, but they paid off because the midfielder opened the scoring before the Alexis Saelemaekers second.

“Pellegrini came to talk to me yesterday and I realised he had this mad desire to be the captain of Roma in the derby,” Ranieri explained to DAZN.

“I couldn’t wait for him to express that, because we coaches try to motivate players and ask more of them. I put him on against Milan and told him it was not a good performance, but today I was convinced he would do well and told him he would play.

“The goal is in his blood, he is one of the best Italian midfielders when it comes to scoring goals. He didn’t ask me to play, I just got the feeling his mood was where I needed it to be.”

Ranieri has tried to reassure Pellegrini since his arrival, comparing him to Frank Lampard at Chelsea, but also then left him on the bench to in a way protect the player from this added pressure.

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epa11807753 AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and SS Lazio, in Rome, Italy, 05 January 2025. EPA-EFE/ETTORE FERRARI

As the third coach of the campaign for Roma, Ranieri has brought much-needed stability, especially as Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric were constantly chopping and changing between three and four-man defences.

“I agree we are now a team, everyone knows what they ought to be doing and how to help each other out. We can keep our shape, which is very important, and now we must continue like this.

“After a poor first half of the season for Roma, we must prove that we’ve come through the tunnel and now we need to start seeing some sunlight. We need a great performance against Bologna, because it really would be terrible to go to Bologna and not replicate this approach.

“The result can depend on many different factors, but the key is that we fight just as hard as we did this evening.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Roma 2-0 Lazio

This means that Ranieri has won all five of his games as the Roma coach between Serie A and the Coppa Italia, the longest 100 per cent record for a tactician in this fixture. Is he tempted to remain on the bench next season too?

“No, I am ready to remain until the end of the season, then God will provide,” joked the veteran.

“A coach has to provide a counter-balance in a derby, so if the players are too fired up, he has to calm things down, and vice versa. The coach does not provide anything extra to the equation.

“I just try to ensure the players are calm and give their all on the field.”

Before Ranieri arrived, players like Mats Hummels and Leandro Paredes were practically abandoned on the bench, but now they have become regular starters.

“It seemed only logical for me to start two World Cup winners,” smiled the coach.

“I tend to get called in during problematic situations at clubs, but I try to bring calm, a hard work ethic and restore some confidence.”

There was tension in stoppages when Taty Castellanos was sent off for a coming together with Hummels, sparking a touchline brawl. At the final whistle, Ranieri was spotted telling Lazio coach Marco Baroni that he was ‘sorry’ it ended that way.

“I was disappointed because the derby had gone so calmly, and we shouldn’t have ended it like that.”