AS Roma and Claudio Ranieri Have a Remarkable League Title Within Their Grasp

This season was supposed to be an epic battle between Italy’s former superpower and its latest and current equivalent.

However, it became clear very early on that Juventus’ season would be a very mediocre one—at best. Instead the reigning champions Inter Milan—showcasing the same grit, power and determination—left the other clubs trailing in their dust as in seasons past.

Fighting on three fronts with the minimum of rotation has taken its toll on José Mourinho’s men, and the somewhat bizarre collapse over the past couple of months has seen the emergence of a very unlikely title contender, now presented with a very real possibility of lifting the Scudetto.

AS Roma has, unlike AC Milan, steadily been capitalizing on the reigning champions’ constant slip-ups and as of Round 33 proudly sit atop the Serie A table.

Something that at the beginning of the campaign was likened to a sinking ship has, with a month of the season to go, turned into something straight out of a fairytale.

When Claudio Ranieri took over the reins after Luciano Spalletti’s resignation two weeks into the new season, the reception was lukewarm at best.  

The club was in a state of crisis. It wasn’t just about the financial troubles that plagued the club which last summer even forced the Giallorossi to sell local hero Alberto Aquilani to Liverpool. The outraged Romanisti deemed Rosella Sensi incompetent and demanded she sell the club in order to save it. In their fury they even threw in a homemade bomb into the training ground in the middle of the night.

Ranieri, ridiculed by Mourinho and humiliatingly sacked by Juventus with two rounds to go of the previous season, was exactly what I Lupi needed. However, at the time it only looked like a short term solution where the Roman would act as the caretaker of a club in crisis—not shouldering title ambitions.

In his first press conference as the Giallorossi tactician, the Tinkerman promised to bring pragmatism to the table, thus conceding that the team wouldn’t play the kind of champagne football it played under its predecessor. On top of that the former Chelsea coach would also implement the spirit of sacrifice and utmost determination—something he has done rather admirably during his time in the Eternal City.

The tinkering paid off and by refusing to distinguish between the players, the team went on an impressive 20 game unbeaten run in all competition with 17 of those games ending in victory. On top of that, Roma remain unbeaten in the league since October 28, having notched up convincing victories against both Juventus and Inter Milan along the way.

On Sunday evening it’s time for the highly anticipated “Derby della Capitale” against eternal rivals SS Lazio. Aside from pride, prestige and points, one side will be battling to keep their title dreams alive whereas the other one will be fighting for “La Salvezza.”

Anything can happen in the final stretch of the season, but luckily for the Giallorossi, they have their fate in their own hands as they top the table for the first time in five years. Will the gold and red side of the Eternal City beat the odds that were stacked against them at the beginning of the season and lift their fourth Scudetto?