Claudio Ranieri on Thursday waved goodbye to Cagliari and brought the curtain down on a near four-decade club coaching career with their 3-2 defeat to ACF Fiorentina cruelly inflicted in the 13th minute of stoppage-time.
Arthur stroked home Fiorentina’s winning goal from the penalty spot after Luca Beltran earned the away side, who trailed 2-1 in the 85th minute, a soft spot-kick given after a long video check.
Fiorentina won and ensured their place in European competition with the last kick of Ranieri’s final match in charge of Cagliari.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Former Premier League winner Ranieri has now effectively retired, even if he said in an interview with Sky in Italy that he would be interested in a national team job.
However, Thursday’s defeat made little difference to Ranieri or Cagliari as last weekend he saved from relegation the same club he brought up from Serie B last season and with whom he rose to prominence in the late 1980s.
Ranieri began his managerial career in amateur soccer in 1986, but turned heads by guiding Cagliari to Serie A with two successive promotions in 1989 and 1990.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“What we managed to do, we did together,” Ranieri said in a short post-match speech on the pitch. “I asked for your help a year and a half ago because only with you could we do what we did.”
Ranieri welled up on the sidelines ahead of kick-off as fans chanted his name and a standing ovation rolled around the stands, while a banner was unfurled that read: “Eternal gratitude to a great man.”
Afterward he hugged his players and family in front of a crowd that roared in appreciation of one of Italian soccer’s most beloved figures.
The 72-year-old said that his decision to quit had been made with a “heavy heart,” worrying that he would tarnish two brilliant spells nearly 40 years apart with Cagliari by staying on.
Ranieri had offered to quit following just three points from the first nine matches of the season, but the club and players convinced him to stay, and survival was dedicated to Ranieri, who has been frequently hailed by his team as an inspiration.
“He’s taught us things that are valuable not just on the pitch, but in life in general,” Gianluca Lapadula told DAZN pre-match. “If you don’t fight for your teammate, the man next to you, you’ll never go anywhere.”
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