Former Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has admitted he will be cheering on Roma, not the Foxes, when the two sides meet in the Europa League semi-finals.
Brendan Rodgers’ side progressed to the last four of the competition on Thursday courtesy of a 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven that saw them come from behind to win the tie.
They are now set to take on Roma in the semi-finals of the competition on April 28th, with the first leg set to take place at the King Power Stadium.
The Italian side had to battle for their place in the last four themselves, overturning a 2-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the first leg with a 4-0 win on Thursday.
It will see Rodgers come up against his old adversary Jose Mourinho, the man who famously stopped Rodgers’ Liverpool side from winning the Premier League title in 2014.
One man who’ll be watching keenly is former Leicester City boss Ranieri, who, of course, won the title with the Foxes and has enjoyed two spells with Roma as well, first from 2009 to 2011 and then a short stint in 2019.
His loyalties would surely be divided given his association with both clubs, but the Italian has admitted that will not be the case.
“I was hoping for Roma; I was convinced they could do it,” Calciomercato report him saying to Corriere Dello Sport.
“Who am I rooting for? It doesn’t even need to be said. Roma is the team I’ve been rooting for since I was a kid. Leicester is linked to a great professional achievement and is always in my thoughts.
“I remember them (Leicester) well. Schmeichel, Albrighton, Vardy. Barnes, I picked up from the boys and took him to the first team. Mendy and Ndidi came later.
“Leicester, after me, has invested a lot; they have an avant-garde sports centre at the world level, let alone in Italy.
“It’s a very ambitious club; I played against them twice with Watford; we lost in the FA Cup and also in the league. In the cup, I had put those who played less.”
