Sunday's fourth straight defeat at Genoa too much for Italian coach

ROME - Claudio Ranieri has resigned as Roma coach following Sunday's disastrous 4-3 defeat at Genoa, despite having led 3-0.

It was the club's fourth defeat in a row and Ranieri then told Italian news agency Ansa he had decided to quit.

"After the final whistle of a vibrant game I went into the changing rooms to thank the team for its performance and I decided to hand in my resignation," he said.

"I've always thought about the good of Roma, both the club and the team.

"Today we began with the desire to fight for the victory for all those who love this shirt and this city.

"Every minute of my day is dedicated to Roma and I've always said that for me a defeat is especially painful.

"But seeing my lads fighting to the end and losing shook me to the core.

"I want to thank all the fans and the president (Rosella) Sensi. Together, despite the difficulties, we did a great job last year and this year.

"I am and always will be a man of the pitch and after a game such as today's I believe it's right to give a signal for the love of these colors and I hope that my decision will help spur on the team.

"Sport and football have values that for me, and for those work hard and with passion, are life itself."

Roma has lost three league games in a row leaving it eighth in the table and nine points off the last Champions League qualification position, which, just to make matters worse, is being held by its bitter city rival, Lazio.

Roma also crashed 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Dontesk in the Champions League in midweek meaning it needs a stunning result in the away leg in Ukraine in three weeks time to progress to the quarterfinals.

After that match fans staged a violent protest outside the club's Trigoria training complex the following day, with four Ultras being arrested.

It seemed to have turned things around in Genoa when Francesco Totti gave it a 3-0 lead after 51 minutes, following first-half strikes from centerbacks Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso.

But within a minute its defense had started to crumble and it continued to collapse as Rodrigo Palacios and Alberto Paloschi grabbed a brace.

After Ranieri's announcement, Sensi said the club would make a decision on the coaching situation on Monday.

"We will act on what he's said," she said, apparently perplexed by the news.

"We won't do anything tonight, we will decide something following a meeting tomorrow morning at which I, the directors and players will be present."

That didn't calm fans, though, 50 of whom waited for the team's return to Trigoria and pelted the team bus with eggs and bottles while shouting: "mercenaries".

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/22/2011 page22)