Cagliari’s curve never becomes unbalanced. But for him this afternoon made an exception. As happened with Gigi Riva. A 30 meter long banner with the words: “Eternal gratitude for a great man, thank you mister“. It is the penultimate tribute from the fans to Claudio Ranieri: a party with almost 5 thousand people (the south curve was also open due to too many requests) in training with open doors in view of the last championship match against Fiorentina. It is the response, with the heart, to the farewell to Cagliari of the coach of three promotions and two salvations.
The choir and the banner
Before the start of training, the choir that accompanied Cagliari’s matches led by the Roman coach 35 years ago began from the stands: “We will rise again, Claudio Ranieri said it“. The same coach approached the curve, climbed over the advertising billboards and he shook hands with supporters in the front rows. As a further gift, a t-shirt with a writing reiterating the message of eternal gratitude to the coach arrived from the stands. On the front of the t-shirt is the image of Ranieri waving at the curve. Ranieri, visibly moved, then led training in the center of the pitch.
Another party today
Between applause and tears: we are moving towards a full house. In a video message to the fans, Ranieri had renewed all his love for Cagliari (of which he is an honorary citizen) and for Cagliari. Explaining the reason for choosing him. “AND a painful, hard decision, made reluctantly but it is right to leave now. I prefer to go like this and not maybe stay another year and things aren’t going well.”
A farewell to clubs, but not to football
For Ranieri the national hypothesis always remains. It is very difficult, despite the matches in recent days with Bologna and Naples, that he will be able to sit on the bench of some Italian team. Also because, in an interview in recent months, Ranieri had explicitly explained that Cagliari would be his last adventure in a club. Now there are the Europeans. And some national teams, perhaps after a tournament below expectations, could need someone like Ranieri: by June the future could be defined of the coach famous throughout the world for his feat with Leicester. And Cagliari, who perhaps had guessed or taken into account what would happen, are already working to find a replacement. The names of are already circulating Barons, Gotti and Dionysus.
