Italian Claudio Ranieri said goodbye to Cagliari and ended a four-decade career as a coach with a 3-2 home defeat to Fiorentina, this Thursday, in the first game of the 38th and final round of Serie A.
It was also a bitter defeat for the Sardinians, as Fiorentina scored the third goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time through Brazilian Arthur Melo.
With the victory, ‘Viola’ (eighth placed) guaranteed a place in the Conference League next season, a tournament in which they will play the final against the Greek Olympiakos, in Athens, on Wednesday next week.
In turn, Cagliari, 15th in Serie A, has already guaranteed its permanence in the elite of Italian football.
The match was special because it was the farewell of 72-year-old Ranieri, who had already distinguished himself as a coach in the late 1980s by taking Cagliari to the first division after two consecutive promotions, in 1989 and 1990.
“What we achieved, we did together”, declared Ranieri at the end of this Thursday’s duel, in a message to the fans on the field.
“I asked for your help a year and a half ago because, only with you, we could do what we did,” he added.
He hugged the players and their families in front of a crowd that applauded one of the most beloved figures in Italian football.
Before the game, the tifosi paid tribute to their veteran coach by displaying a huge banner that read: “Eternal gratitude to a great man.”
Claudio Ranieri stood out as a pilgrim in world football and his greatest achievement was leading English club Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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