The American consortium barely put a foot wrong during the first three years of their reign – now they risk being run out of the Giallorossi
When it first emerged in June that the Friedkin Group had agreed a deal with Farhad Moshiri to buy Everton, the news was warmly received by the club's long-suffering supporters. For starters, it appeared to signal an overdue end to one of the most toxic tenures in the Toffees' history. After years of underachievement and uncertainty, the grossly unpopular Moshiri was finally on his way out of Goodison Park.
The Everton faithful were also encouraged by the way in which the Friedkin Group had already revived Roma – another once-great club with a fantastic fanbase that had fallen on hard times. The Giallorossi won the Conference League just two years after being taken over by the American consortium, in 2020, and also reached the Europa League final the following season.
However, with the Friedkin Group still trying to wrap up its proposed acquisition of a 94 percent stake in Everton, it's worth noting that Roma have since descended into complete chaos, with many bitterly frustrated fans now trying to drive the owners out of a club presently searching for its fourth manager of 2024…
'Friedkin go home!'
On Tuesday morning, the front page of the warned that the "crisis at Roma risks becoming a joke". In truth, that ship had already sailed.
Just the day before, it had been claimed that, in the hope of avoiding detection, Dan and Ryan Friedkin were staying in a hotel in Ladispoli, a town on the outskirts of the capital city. Those reports were unconfirmed, but that didn't deter some irate Roma fans from trying to send a message to the under-fire owners by hanging a banner outside the building that read, "Friedkin go home!"
Such a sentiment would have been unthinkable even just a few months ago. The Friedkins had barely made a mistake since acquiring Roma from James Pallotta just over four years ago. However, they've now made several disastrous decisions that have turned many fans against them.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'Sometimes football is not fair'
On June 25, Daniele De Rossi signed a new, three-year contract with Roma. The team's form had tailed off at the end of the 2023-24 season, but it still felt like just reward for the club legend, who had done a fine job in lifting the spirits at Trigoria after Jose Mourinho had left the team at "rock bottom" when he was finally fired in January.
Consequently, De Rossi's dismissal less than a month into the new season stunned Serie A. Nobody had seen it coming. Roma may have drawn three of their first four league games, while losing the other, but there had been no talk of dressing-room discontent. On the contrary, the players seemed as shocked by the news as they were upset, with star player Paolo Dybala left lamenting the fact that "sometimes football is not fair".
It was a move that appeared to make little sense. Roma had clearly had a project in mind with De Rossi and yet they had decided to abandon it after little more than a slow start. Looking at the Friedkin family's reign up until that point, it felt completely out of character, at odds with their previously patient and prudent approach to everything from appointments to the transfer market.
Many fans pointed the finger of blame squarely at CEO Lina Souloukou, whose influence and power at Roma had only increased following the departure of Thiago Pinto as sporting director in February, as it had been reported that she had clashed with De Rossi over the club's handling of the summer transfer market. even claimed that Souloukou had to be placed under a light form of police protection before she stood down just four days after De Rossi's sacking.
Getty Images'Very explosive situation'
The Friedkin Group hired Ivan Juric to replace De Rossi – another odd choice in the circumstances. The former Verona and Torino boss was a hard-working disciplinarian who is widely respected in Serie A, but did not look like a good fit for the squad that Roma had been putting together for De Rossi.
"Juric is the last coach you would want to bring into this situation," fellow Croat and former AC Milan director Zvonomir Boban told . "He is good at a very different style of football, he wants very physically strong players with stamina, whereas he has taken on a squad with a great deal of technical quality. He is also not suited to taking over midway through a season without any work over the summer in training.
Boban couldn't have been more correct. Roma won their first two league games under Juric, against Udinese and Venezia, but then capitulated, as it quickly became clear that there was a colossal disconnect between the coach and his players, who, it must be said, have not been spared the ire of the supporters, who have labelled them "traitors" and "pieces of sh*t".
When Juric confronted defender Gianluca Mancini over the concession of a goal in the first half of Roma's embarrassing 5-1 loss at Fiorentina on October 27, the pair reportedly came close to exchanging blows during the interval. Mancini did not emerge for the second half at all, refusing to even take his seat on the bench. And nor did Bryan Cristante, who had been substituted after just 32 minutes.
The also alleged that sporting director Florent Ghisolfi went to the dressing room to ask for an explanation for the dismal display after the game and was told by captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, "No one asked us about the issue and, after four games, you sent away a coach who had taught us a certain type of football to take someone from the antipodes!"
By that point, it was clear that Juric was on borrowed time, with the likes of Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini pointing out that he had been put in an almost impossible position. "It's a very explosive situation, born of the sacking of De Rossi," the Atalanta coach told .
Getty Images'We apologise to the fans'
Juric was finally put out of his misery on Sunday – just over half an hour after Roma's 3-2 loss at home to Bologna, which left the capital club 12th in Serie A, just four points above the relegation zone.
He had made numerous mistakes during his seven-week reign, chief among them claiming Dybala was not fit to play while the Argentine's agent was telling everyone else otherwise. However, while his name had been whistled even before kick-off, most of the fan fury was now being directed at those that had put him in the firing line in the first place.
"Friedkin, who's seen him?" read one banner at the Olimpico, which was a reference to the fact that Dan – and Ryan – had apparently cancelled plans to fly in from the U.S. before the game to avoid putting themselves in an awkward position. If they had turned up at the Olimpico, they'd have been subject to all sorts of abuse. If they hadn't turned up despite arriving in Rome, they'd have been accused of cowardice. In the end, it was Ghisolfi who faced the media after Juric's inevitable sacking had been finally confirmed.
"Ivan is an ambitious coach who demands a great deal from his players," the Frenchman told . "This is not the moment to evaluate the technical and tactical issues, he arrived in a very difficult situation. It is also time for us to take our share of the responsibility. We apologise to the fans who are suffering right now and recognise our responsibility for the situation.
"The Friedkin family and I maintain the same long-term project, which is to win and keep investing to achieve that aim. Right now in the short-term, we have to focus on getting things back on track. I don’t like the term 'transition period' because this is Roma and we ought to perform from the start, but we must face this situation as best we can."
Tellingly, when pressed on whether getting rid of De Rossi had been a mistake, Ghisolfi conceded, "History would suggest that. At this moment, all we can do is take on our responsibility, along with the players and the club, to get out of this situation as soon as possible."
