In some ways, Claudio Ranieri could be considered the most unfortunately of Chelsea Managers. He arrived at the club before the takeover of Roman Abramovich and was dismissed by the Russian in order to accommodate José Mourinho, so the Italian didn’t get to experience the good times. The fact that he would later go on to win the Premier League with Leicester City suggests that he had the ability, but Abramovich would go on to prove himself to be a man who rarely demonstrated the patience to find out. Known by many by the nickname ‘the Tinkerman’, Ranieri won nothing but hearts as Chelsea manager.
Ranieri the Defender
Claudio Ranieri was born in the Italian capital of Rome on the 20th of October 1951. He grew up as a supporter of Roma, playing football for the first time at his childhood church. His family lived in the nearby town of Formello, with Ranieri being described as a friend as having a ‘typically English’ personality of being quiet and reserved. He signed his first professional contract with Roma, although he would only play six appearances for the team that he supported. A defender, Ranieri went on loan to Siracusa before moving to Catanzaro in 1974. That was the club where he spent most of his career, playing 226 league games and scoring eight goals.
In 1982 he left Catanzaro for Catania, helping the club to gain promotion having already enjoyed two promotions with his former club. Having spent two years there and played 92 league games, Ranieri enjoyed the final move of his career when he left for Palermo. It was another two-year stint for Ranieri at his final club, enjoying yet another promotion. Though he had been a middling player, he made the decision to turn to coaching after his retirement, getting the manager’s job at Vigor Lamezia, leading the club to a 12-game unbeaten run that took them to the top of the table before retiring after he refused to play players brought in by an agent close to the club President.
A Journeyman Coach
After leaving Vigor Lamezia, an amateur side, Ranieri began managing Campania Puteolana in Pozzuoli. His achievements there were enough to earn the attention of Cagliari, with the club appointing him as manager after just a year in his previous job. There is an argument that it was at Cagliari that the Italian really began to be noticed, joining in 1988 and winning promotion in two successive seasons in order to get them promoted from Serie C2 to Serie A. He also won his first piece of notable silverware when Cagliari won the Coppa Italia Serie C in 1989. He became known for his fluid tactical systems, switching between shapes and formations in a match.
In 1991, Ranieri’s success at Cagliari earned him the post as Napoli manager, who were facing major financial issues at the time. The Italian was able to steer around these, finishing in fourth place and getting the club qualified for the UEFA Cup. In spite of this, his lack of silverware meant that he was sacked during his second season when the club was knocked out of the European competition in the second round. In 1993, he took over at Fiorentina and helped the club to win Serie B and gain promotion to the top-flight. Eventually, Ranieri became noticed around Europe and took over at Valencia in 1997 winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the Copa del Rey.
Becoming Chelsea Manager
After his success at Valencia, Ranieri signed for Atlético Madrid in 1999. Sadly things didn’t work out well for him there, with the club going into administration and the Italian resigning before he could be sacked. The club was relegated at the end of the season, in spite having an impressive squad including the likes of José Molina and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The issues at Atlético Madrid didn’t put Chelsea off, with the London club hiring Ranieri in spite of the fact that he didn’t speak much English. There were a number of players who could speak Spanish and Italian, helping to translate for him during training.
His first season in charge was marred by inconsistency, with Chelsea finishing sixth in the Premier League and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. He was given a remit of reducing the average age of the squad, using the summer of 2001 in order to bring in Frank Lampard from West Ham United, Boudewijn Zenden and Emmanuel Petit from Barcelona and William Gallas from Marseille, plus Ajax’s Jesper Grønkjær. In spite of this, the sale of fan favourite Dennis Wise and the lack of improvement on the pitch meant that he faced criticism from supporters. It was another sixth place finish, with the club losing in the FA Cup final to London rivals Arsenal.
One of the biggest criticisms that Ranieri faced was of rotating his team too much, earning him the nickname from the British press of ‘the Tinkerman’. In many ways, of course, he was ahead of his time, making use of his squad in order to keep players fit. On the last day of the 2002-2003 season, Chelsea defeated Liverpool in order to end up in the Champions League at their expense. It was an achievement that earned him plaudits, with the club having been in a difficult financial position at the time. The fact that they made it into the Champions League is likely what encouraged Roman Abramovich to buy the club.
Leaving Chelsea & Life After the Blues
Although Abramovich gave Ranieri a large transfer budget, the fact that the new Chelsea owner was seen meeting with Sven-Göran Eriksson days after the takeover suggested that his days were numbered. The Italian spent £120 million, bringing in the likes of Damien Duff, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson and Hernán Crespo. The Blues finished as runners-up behind Arsenal, the club’s best finish for nearly 50 years, with the Gunners having gone unbeaten all season. Although Chelsea set records for the highest number of points and fewest goals conceded, Ranieri left the club having identified Didier Drogba, Petr Čech and Arjen Robben as targets.
After Chelsea, the Italian returned to Valencia to replace Rafael Benítez, who himself would later become a Chelsea manager, with the Spaniard heading to take over at Liverpool and becoming a thorn in the side of the Blues. He would also manage Parma and Juventus as well as his boyhood club Roma, completing the Italian set when he took on the Inter Milan job. Managing Monaco and the Greek national side was also on the cards, with Ranieri ending up at Leicester City in 2015. Having won numerous honours in his career, the achievement of winning the Premier League with the Foxes will go down as his finest.
Having been ranked as 5,000/1 outsiders, Leicester City won the title when they drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford and Tottenham Hotspur failed to defeat Chelsea. It was the Foxes’ first title in the 132-year history of the club, cementing Ranieri’s place as a club legend. He would go on to manage Nantes, Fulham, Roma again, Sampdoria and Watford, but he would never again be able to achieve the incredible victory that he managed with Leicester City. A managerial journeyman, he will retire with Serie C1, Coppa Italia Serie C, Serie B, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, Copa del Rey, Intertoto Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Ligue 2 and Premier League winners’ medals.