Roma appoint former Atalanta coach Gasperini as new manager

Former Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has been appointed AS Roma's new manager, the Serie A club said on Friday, with the 67-year-old signing a three-year contract.

Gasperini left Atalanta on Saturday after nine years in charge, and will replace the retired Claudio Ranieri at Roma who finished fifth in the standings last season to qualify for the Europa League, a trophy Gasperini won with his previous club.

Ranieri became Roma's third managerial appointment last season when the 73-year-old came out of retirement to return for his third spell in charge at the club where he began his playing career and now has an advisory role.

Gasperini announced in February that he would not be signing a new deal at Atalanta, with his contract ending in June and while there was an option to extend it by a year, he decided the time was right to move on.

"Gasperini's career is defined by its creative tactics, dedication to hard work, and exceptional player development," a Roma club statement said.

"Both ownership and Claudio Ranieri believe Gasperini is the right man for the mission."

He helped take Atalanta from Serie A strugglers to regular European football, winning the Europa League in 2024, which was not only the club's maiden European triumph, but Gasperini's first trophy in a long managerial career which began in 2003.

Gasperini began his coaching career at Crotone and has also managed Genoa, Inter Milan and Palermo, but made a name for himself at Atalanta, achieving European qualification in his first season after an absence of 26 years for the club.

Atalanta led the Serie A standings last season in December and were involved in the title race for a long period before finishing third for the fourth time under Gasperini.

Roma won the Conference League in 2022 and were losing finalists in the Europa League the following year and will look to Gasperini to take them back to Champions League football for the first time since 2019.