Claudio Ranieri To Become New West Brom Manager?
Former Chelsea & Inter Milan boss reportedly in contention to replace England bound Roy Hodgon.
Claudio Ranieri is reportedly in contention to become the next West Brom manager, replacing Roy Hodgon who leaves after this weekend to coach England. But despite the pull of managing in the Premier League, the veteran Italian, who was sacked by Inter Milan in March, has arguably little to gain from taking the Baggies job. In a 25 year plus managerial career, Ranieri has managed some of Europes biggest clubs, but has failed to win a top tier league title. Unless that changes, he might not only go down in history as the Tinker Man, but also as footballs Nearly Man. In what is their sixth season in the Premier League since 2002, West Brom seem to have found some stability. They could end this season in the top 10, an improvement on last seasons 11th place finish. However Ranieri has already proven that he can steer and stabalise smaller clubs. In the 90s, he guided Italian side Cagliari to Serie A from the third division in consecutive seasons. He also gained Fiorentina promotion from to Serie A in his first season there, and saved Parma from relegation to Serie B in 2007. The Baggies have potential and have forged a reputation in recent seasons for playing good football. However they are far from challenging the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Ranieris former club, Chelsea, for titles. But overcoming these giants is what Ranieri needs to alter is legacy. It would be wrong to label Ranieri as failure. Hes won the Cope Del Rey with Valencia, and the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina. But winning a top tier title would help vanquish his memories of near misses. Hes come close with Roma, Juventus and Chelsea helping each of them finish second. Some believe he could have achieved more at Chelsea if given the chance. His second place finish in 2003-04 was, at the time, the clubs best finish in 49 years. Sadly for Ranieri, throughout the campaign it was inevitable that club owner Roman Abramovich was planning to replace him. In the end, he was relieved of his duties to make way for the mercurial Jose Mourinho. It remains to be seen whether Ranieri will take up the reigns at the Hawthorns. There were also rumours linking him to Seven-time Qatari champions Al Gharafa. The rumour was denied by club officials, but despite his need to win a league title, winning the Qatari Stars League is probably not the answer.