Roma are assessing several options before making a final decision on Ivan Juric’s successor, but Erik ten Hag and Frank Lampard don’t seem to be what the Giallorossi need at the moment.
The list of names linked with the Roma job includes former Manchester United coach Erik Ten Had and ex-Chelsea managers Frank Lampard and Graham Potter. Still, another part of the club’s management, notably sporting director Florient Ghisolfi, believes an Italian tactician with a proven track in Serie A would better suit what the team needs at the moment.
Why Ten Hag and Lampard would be high-risk solutions at Roma
In fact, Juric’s brief stint perfectly sums up why a foreign manager would be a high-risk solution.
While the former Torino manager’s record was far from satisfying, with four wins and five defeats from 12 games across all competitions, he had to work in an extremely hostile environment caused by the club’s controversial decision to sack Giallorossi legend Daniele De Rossi.
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As a result, even starting his stint by picking up two consecutive Serie A wins, the first victories of Roma’s season, was not enough to stop the fans’ protests, making it complicated for Juric to bring serenity and confidence to his team.
More prestigious managers like Ten Hag, let alone Lampard, wouldn’t be spared the same treatment from an irritated fanbase, meaning they’d have no time to adapt to Italian football, as supporters would expect them to get results quickly.
History has already shown many times how foreign coaches need time to understand Serie A’s peculiarities, notably a desperate attention to tactical details, and hiring such profiles at a delicate moment would mean exposing them to a probable failure.
In this respect, opting for a manager who already knows how to handle difficulties posed by Italian football would be the most logical move as of now, which is probably why former Milan and Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella is reportedly considered the leading candidate for the Roma job, should he decide to terminate his contract with Turkey.
Lampard might be eaten alive in Serie A. English coaches are generally hopeless, so hiring him to come to come to the country that produces the best coaches makes no sense.