Imagine if you’d been told these things before 2024, Roma’s year beyond belief

Imagine if someone told you at the start of 2024 that, by the end of it, Claudio Ranieri would be Roma’s head coach – oh, and that Daniele De Rossi had been back and gone away again in between, and there was even another manager in between them…

You’d probably be confused and have a lot of questions. It’s been an unpredictable year, that’s for certain. So, let’s rewind and trace our steps back through all the unexpected events and questions that would have arisen had you been told in advance what was happening. Has reality even sunk in yet?

Imagine if someone told you at the start of 2024 that Jose Mourinho was already in his last month in charge of Roma and about to be sacked. This may have been believable to a degree, given that Roma were ending 2023 placed seventh in Serie A. But there had also been murmurs of Mourinho extending his stay at Roma beyond the end of the 2023-24 season, when his contract should have been up. But as a poor run of form continued, including a derby defeat, Roma called time on an eye-catching chapter of their recent history. The decision divides opinion still, especially in the context of everything that has followed.

Imagine if someone told you that Mile Svilar would become Roma’s first-choice goalkeeper, not just for the end of the 2023-24 season but for the long term. Most would probably have been ready for Rui Patricio to be replaced, but after 18 months as a backup, not many could have foreseen how strongly Svilar would earn the long-term starting role for Roma.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would appoint Daniele De Rossi as Mourinho’s successor on an interim basis. As a concept, it wouldn’t have been so outlandish. Many fans had expected De Rossi to return to Roma on the touchline at some point in his post-playing career. But so soon? As seen by the reaction to his return – a mixture of celebration and concern – the choice of the former captain to succeed Mourinho was a surprise.

Imagine if someone told you, though, that De Rossi would start extremely well. It was hard to know what to expect from just his second managerial post, when the previous one was a short-lived spell in the bottom half of Serie B, but with eight wins from his first 10 games, De Rossi captivated Roma again. Sceptics would argue that Mourinho could have obtained similar results too, but maybe not. For a brief time, Roma’s spirits were lifted again. De Rossi had earned the job permanently.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma’s owners, The Friedkin Group, would start exploring a takeover of Everton in the Premier League – and that how they were generally judged by the Giallorossi fanbase would plummet over the course of the year compared to what were previously decent-to-strong levels of respect. In terms of the Everton interest, which began in June and would ultimately lead to a purchase of the English club by December, concerns could have crept in about the commitment to Roma and the perils of being part of a multi-club network – though there may also have been a sense of intrigue as to what could come from it.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would be able to spend big in the summer transfer window. After years of Financial Fair Play blockages, you would have been relieved. It would also be reassuring, given the high number of players Roma had to replace due to their loans or contracts expiring. There would be a sense of excitement at how the squad could be constructed. Again, though, some may have wondered what Mourinho could have done instead with such backing. And when the reality kicked in, you wouldn’t have imagined the decision makers would overlook some priorities in the manner they ultimately did.

Imagine if someone told you that, within that transfer window, Roma would be able to sign the top scorer from the 2023-24 La Liga season (Artem Dovbyk). That had never happened before, for any of Europe’s major leagues.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma Women captain Elisa Bartoli would become expendable and let go by the club in the summer (and just a few months after the departure of former top scorer Annamaria Serturini as well). Most followers of the Giallorosse would have expected founding skipper Bartoli to see out her career in the capital, and although she went out as a back-to-back Scudetto winner, her exit may have affected the next title defence.

Imagine if someone told you Edoardo Bove would become marginalised and sent away by Roma in the summer. He was a popular homegrown player making his name in his beloved club’s midfield, but ultimately a decision was made that excluded him from the project. (The traumatic events of his on-field collapse while playing for Fiorentina were of course also unforeseeable, but – see also, Evan Ndicka’s collapse in Roma’s game against Udinese – it wouldn’t be right to treat that with the same tone as most items in this article. Forza Edo.)

Imagine if someone told you that Paulo Dybala would come close to leaving Roma for a Saudi move, only to reject an offer that would have seen him earn €75 million over three years. His contract situation has always been delicate at Roma due to a release clause, so the idea of him being tempted elsewhere wouldn’t have been surprising – but his decision to pledge his future to Roma, a club he has developed an affinity with despite only joining in 2022, was a huge cause for celebration (even if his form afterwards has taken time to reach recognisable levels).

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would be able to sign former World Cup winner Mats Hummels just months after he played in a Champions League final – and that, for a time, he would be left out consistently due to ‘technical reasons’ while other players featured out of position at centre-back.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would sack De Rossi just four games into the new season and his ‘permanent’ role as head coach. It was a decision that sent shockwaves through the club and even now, more than three months after it happened, seems staggering in terms of how it was handled.

Imagine if someone told you that Ivan Juric would be Roma’s head coach for a spell. This might have been feasible, given his work with Torino, but he wasn’t of the calibre fans would have expected for a post-Mourinho world, compared to how the year began, and it showed.

Imagine if someone told you that Lina Souloukou would come to be viewed as something of a public enemy, with backlash being taken too far and her ultimately leaving her post as CEO. She was generally seen as competent and collected before and was starting to make an impression, until too much responsibility was assigned and things went out of control.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would lose a Europa League match to Elfsborg. You may have wondered who that opposition team actually was. (In fairness, after finding out their geographical location and being traumatised by memories of Bodo/Glimt, perhaps you could have seen that one coming.)

Imagine if someone told you that Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante would be in danger of being phased out by Roma ahead of the January 2025 transfer window. For some, it would be seen as a shift towards an overdue change, but a significant one nonetheless. And on that theme, imagine if someone told you Niccolo Pisilli would be ahead of them in the pecking order, which may have generated some intrigue as to the next prospect to break through from Roma’s academy.

Imagine if someone told you that Francesco Totti would genuinely be considering coming out of retirement to revive his playing career in his late 40s. As that process continues, that’s another one that is still taking some time to get your head around. Let’s see what 2025 brings on that front.

Imagine if someone told you that Roma would sack a head coach (Juric) after just 12 games. You’d be concerned about what would happen in that timeframe for such a sudden reversal to be made, but the writing was on the wall.

And finally, imagine if someone told you that by the end of 2024, Claudio Ranieri would be Roma’s head coach again. Would you wonder what kind of crisis meant he was needed to return to Roma’s aid again? Would you feel in safe hands again?

Had you seen this script before 2024 began, you would have likely thought it was fiction. But it all happened. It was a turbulent ride, but we reached the end of it. Now, the only question is: what on earth will happen that we can’t see coming in 2025?