Euro Leagues: BlueCo crisis & Helsingborgs' Scottish boss

20:32Julien Laurens:If that can help Strasbourg, we're all for it. The last PSG game was really different. I think it's a small league mentality, which is what we are, to be honest. you know this is not like the Bundesliga or the Premier League or Serie A or La Liga although we heard Konati and Sobosla in the Liverpool PSG last quarterfinals also saying hey why not us what about us because you know they could feel that physically it's also very demanding to play those games back to back in the Champions League with your league fixture in between so maybe there's a broader conversation to have even in the big leagues but certainly for us it's what they do in the Netherlands, in Portugal, in Belgium, and that's what they do in France.

21:10Julien Laurens:It's a small league mentality. Quick update, because I've enjoyed you talking about the French Big Sam. Le Grand Sam. Le Grand Sam, yeah. The manager of Paris FC. So how's he getting on? I always mess up the pronunciation of his name. Antoine Comboire. Is that correct? Yeah, Comboire, well done. He kept them up. Is he still being the French Big Sam? He is, he is, very much so. and his legacy and his legend continues because he kept them up, doing much better than the guy before him, Stefanie Gili did. I mean, signing some Italians, clearly, because they didn't have to think about the World Cup anyway, clearly helped because Giro Immobile has done really well, Coppola has done really well too, and Kili Osho, the other one, has done also very well.

21:57Julien Laurens:So their recruitment in January has worked well, much better than the one in the summer. So well done to Paris FC, who, by the way, just in case this title race between PSG and Lens goes to the wire, the last game in the season is Paris FC against PSG. Wow. And that could be maybe the moment where Paris FC, after having knocked PSG out in the French Cup, can also maybe preventing them from winning the title. Which day? Do they have to travel far?

22:22James Horncastle:Does that game have a name, Jules? It would be like the Paris-born and Bredico, or...

22:28Julien Laurens:Yeah, that's a great name. At the moment, the other day I called it, oh, I can't remember now, because obviously the owners of Paris FC, as you know, are the Arno family, one of the richest families and who owns like some really, really luxurious brands. But yeah, I would think about a good name, but I love your Paris Bon and Bredico. So we've talked about France. Let's head to Italy now, James. The US special envoy, Paolo Zampoli, told the Financial Times, I confirm, I've suggested to Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. He said, I'm an Italian native and it It would be a dream to see the Azuri at a US-hosted tournament.

23:07So it's made lots of headlines, this story, hasn't it? Has there been lots of talk about it in Italy? Have they been saying, wow, we've got hope again, maybe we'll be at the World Cup?

23:18James Horncastle:No, they haven't taken this seriously at all, JB. In fact, there's been a sense of shame, really, about it. I think even if Zampoli had secured this, I think members of Italian Parliament and the Italian Football Federation would maybe have said, no, we do not want this because we did not qualify. And they're in no state to be at the World Cup. They currently don't have a president of the Italian Football Federation. They currently don't have a coach. Apart from that. every day is going through you know what needs to be done in Italian football in order to make the Italian national team competitive again so it can actually qualify for World Cups let alone contend to win World Cups like it used to do and so I think there was there was a sense that this kind of almost like interfered with this whole process it's like hang on a minute just let us sort ourselves out if we can do that and so yeah it it was not taken seriously i spoke to the italian football federation this morning it was completely over their heads they were like you know we haven't been involved in any of this we don't know anything about it you know zampoli very much sees himself as donald trump's kind of deal maker but um i think he even he conceded that this is a deal that that cannot be done so yeah the italian football federation the national team the italian football movement as a whole is purely focused on who should be the next president, who should be the next coach and what reforms they need to bring in in order to be at the next World Cup, not this one coming this summer.

24:58Yeah, the sports minister in Italy said, firstly, it's not possible. Secondly, it's not appropriate. You qualify on the pitch. Have you guys been discussing, I think you have, haven't you, who James is going to adopt as a team to follow during the World Cup? Did you choose someone was I think Brazil were mentioned because of Ancelotti

25:13Julien Laurens:so at the Euros in Germany we were together a lot with Horny because our hotels were close to each other etc etc and to a certain extent he brought luck to my French team because we went to the semifinal but then we were there together for that loss against Spain in the semifinal so I think at the end of the day I don't really want him to support France anymore I don't really want him to be there again I'm doing two France games Jules I know that's why I'm really fearing we'll put you You're going to be far too much involved. No, no, no final, no semi-final for Horncastle with France. Germany, James?

25:46Julien Laurens:Germany, would you like to follow that? Go with the Germans. Very good, James.

25:50James Horncastle:I have told our BBC bosses that I will be at every Brazil game because there is a certain Mr. Carlo Ancelotti who is coaching Brazil. So I will be the Carlo whisperer for the World Cup. So that is very much what I'm doing. Of course, I'll be following Fabio Cannavaro's Uzbekistan. I'll be following Vincenzo Montella's Turkey because that's how Italians get to World Cup. these days. They coach other national teams. Let's talk Serie A. So Inter could secure the Serie A title as soon as this weekend. There were doubts about it, really, weren't there? As recently as a month ago. But they now have a 12-point lead over their city rivals, AC Milan.

26:26And if they better the results of Milan and Napoli this weekend, they will win the title. Inter away at Torino on Sunday. Christian Kivo, do you think he's proved his critics wrong, James? because you look at some of the stats this season, they've been absolutely sensational, haven't they, in terms of goal scoring. It's only his second senior managerial job. I think it was only 13 games he had at Parma. What have people made in Italy of the job he's done specifically?

26:55James Horncastle:Yeah, I mean, he came in this time last year at Parma and kept them up on the final day of the season. His only coaching experience up until then had been working in Inter's academy, which is why they thought he would be well-suited to the club to replace Simon Inzaghi. I remember Inter reached the Champions League final last year, which they lost 5-0. And, you know, that final, it happened quite late. And when Simon Inzaghi communicated the decision that he was going to leave the club a week after that final, it left Inter in a little bit of a bind because they had to immediately go to the Club World Cup.

27:28James Horncastle:So Kivu was kind of someone who that they fell back on. And, you know, I was at his first game. It was a 5-0 win against Torino. You know, look, there have been ups and downs. But yeah, the narrative about Inter after that Champions League final was it's a team that's at the end of the cycle. It's an old team. Instead, he's managed to get the team to go again. And during the Club World Cup, yeah, that wasn't taken for granted because it seemed that his captain, Lautaro Martinez, was falling out with Hakan Chalonolu. He's integrated some young players. He's reinvented some players. and look some of their performance well results in the big games were not great they obviously went out in the Champions League to Bodo Glimt yeah that was humiliating and sort of cast the ball over the spring but yeah he will become the third intercoach in the last five years to win the league I think that to some extent shows how well run that club has been regardless of who the coach has been but to be a young coach in a big job like that as you know Rafa and Julian know I mean Rafa can maybe speak to this on Vincent company when you coach a big club it's not only about the tactical the game model that you implement there are so many things that go into managing a big club the kind of scrutiny can you handle big personalities in dressing rooms and he's been able to do that.

28:52James Horncastle:And, you know, given Inter have lost a couple of finals on the final day of the season in the last five years, happened twice to them. For them to wrap up a title possibly as early as this weekend would be quite the achievement for a young coach. It's interesting that James was talking there about the pre-season expectations because Christian Kivu had an interesting quote about his doubters. He said, we were supposed to finish eighth And always meant to be gone straight away, with even a list of replacements already out there. Jules, Rafa, Inter surely were never predicted to finish eighth. He's exaggerating a bit there, isn't he?

29:28I mean, I know he's done a great job, but that's a bit of an exaggeration as to pre-season expectations. Yeah, obviously, I mean, he's having a dig at his critics and his perceived lack of expertise. I think the critics did come back when they got knocked out in the Champions League, which was a big blow for this Inter side, having finished as runners-up. But, you know, the league form domestically has been wonderful. And I think he has proven himself as a coach who belongs at this level. And he can start again. And maybe with one or two additions, Inter can be, as James likes to tell us every year, favorites to win the Champions League again.

30:07Yeah, every year. Every year. And to be fair, he had injuries at the wrong time as well, right?

30:15Julien Laurens:Because Lautaro obviously was out for quite a while. Charnoglu maybe more importantly there was the whole Bastoni issues you know and the Kalulu incident and all that so there's been a lot of things for him to deal with right?

30:28James Horncastle:Yeah absolutely I think there's been a feeling that other teams have had worst injury crises like particularly the one that Antonio Conte faced at Napoli where it felt like everyone was injured all of the time but he's had injuries too and yeah particularly the injuries to Lautaro through the spring And Lautaro is not only their captain, but no matter who plays alongside Lautaro, that player does really well. You know, be it in the past Lukaku, Dzeko, Marcus Turam, he gets the best out of the player next to him. And when Lautaro is not there, those players suffer. And yeah, Lautaro, even though he can be a bit streaky, he always gets into 20 goals every year.

31:08James Horncastle:You mentioned Chalinolu as well. Yeah, Chalinolu is one of those rare six players. who really gets the team going. And it meant that Kibu had to reinvent Piotr Zielinski as a number six, and that worked really well. You talked about Bastoni becoming this kind of pariah after diving to get Pier Collulu sent off in the Derby d 'Italia against Juventus and celebrating the red card. There was a former prime minister of Italy who was saying he should never be called up for the national team again. and perhaps Gattuso should have taken that advice because Bastogne got sent off against Bosnia. But these are all things that add up to a lot.

31:52James Horncastle:I mean, it's not straightforward being the coach of a big club with a lot of talent. There are lots of bumps in the road and I think Kivu's dealt with them very well. Still to come on EuroLeague's Bundesliga chat and a British manager working in Sweden joins us to tell his fascinating story. All after this. So here's the first ball of this series. All the cricket you love. Check for LBW. Ouch! Lives on BBC Sounds. Smash straight back down the ground, this girl. Hear ball-by-ball coverage of the biggest competitions on the domestic and international circuits. It's a ball cricket and it's the huge one.

32:31Jeez. Settle down, tough. I'm sorry. Cricket on Five Live Sport. Oh, I'm living every ball of this. Listen on BBC Sounds.

32:42On the Football Daily Podcast, the EuroLeagues with John Bennett. Let's head to Germany now. Talk about Bayern Munich, who beat Stuttgart at the weekend to secure their 35th Bundesliga title, second in a row under company. And the treble is still on. Jules won't like us talking about the treble still being on, considering they've got to play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final. But they beat Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night to reach the German Cup final, the DFB-Pokal final. They've scored 109 Bundesliga goals, which is extraordinary. And it's even more extraordinary when you look at Borussia Dortmund, how many goals they've scored.

33:21Their second, 61 goals. Rafa, are we talking about the best Bayern team here since the Guardiola era? Or is that harsh on Hansi Flick and their winners of the Champions League, what, six years ago? Yeah, I mean, we can only really have this discussion after the end of the season because Hansi Flick managed to win the travel, then managed to win a few more titles in the next season, including the Super Cup and so on, the Club World Cup. So if they do all that, then they're in conversation. But I think if you just want to talk about the football itself, I think Bayern are probably as closest as they have been for a long time to the dominance that we saw in the Guardiola years, starting with the travel season under Heinkes in 2013, when no one in the Bundesliga could live with this team.

34:08And there was just a given that they were going to win games. And it feels a bit like that. You know, they rest half the team at the weekend and still completely dominate a very decent Stuttgart side, who are the cup winners last year and contenders for the Champions League places. So Bayern are on another level. I think it also reflects a little bit on the Bundesliga. This is not a vintage season for anyone else. You know, Leverkusen are much weaker than they were a couple of years ago when they won the double. Dortmund have had decent results, but they haven't beaten the bigger sides and have really struggled in Europe as well.

34:44and Leipzig are only just beginning to find themselves under Olivera. So I think two things happen at the same time. Bayern in the second year, things tactically worked out a lot better than they did last year. Luis Diaz has been an incredible addition and the Bundesliga as a whole isn't quite as strong as they were maybe two or three years ago. But the real test, as often does for Bayern teams when they dominate domestically, is what happens in the Champions League. People will fondly remember this company team if they get knocked out by PSG and they'll probably win the double. But that's not going to be enough to be a historic Bayern team.

35:19You need to win the Champions League and that's going to be very, very difficult because of the calibre of the opposition. How worried are you then, Jules? How worried are PSG? And what do you think they're looking at as the key part of this team? I mean, we're all talking about the front three, aren't we, Kane, Elise, Diaz. They must be concerned about that front three.

35:37Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah, sure. I mean, you know, I raise you my front three of Dewey, Dembélé. It's a good debate, isn't it? It's a good debate. Maybe James should be the referee of that on that in a moment. But I think it's the two, you know, the two best or most informed front threes really of this moment in time, probably. And I think that would be very special. I think they, for me, slightly in Bayern's favour because they've got the second leg at home, which I think still makes a big difference. Mind games. Mind games. Of course, man. Of course. Always. but other than that I think you can look at them and be very much like 50-50 but between that game and the contrast with the other semi-final obviously of Arsenal against Atlético Madrid I don't think you could be you could have a bigger contrast at all and I think this is going to be an incredible game we know it already so I just we just can't wait I still think that the second leg being in Munich is a bit of an advantage still still nowadays although you know I think PSG can beat really anybody on there there so is Bayern So I think he's going to be great.

36:38And Rafa, did you see the reports this week that Anthony Gordon is being linked with Bayern Munich? What do you make of that? I mean, he's not going to get into the team, is he? Could you see this happening? Yeah, of course I saw the reports. It's a big talking point in Germany. And there seems to be a feeling that this could happen if, and it's a big if, if the valuations can be agreed. but Bayern are looking for another winger who can ideally play both positions maybe through the middle as well as Anthony Gordon has done quite successfully for Newcastle of course and I think Bayern have been I don't know if lucky is the right word but it's been a very risky setup this year where they said we want a very small squad we want to give space to the youngsters we want to keep the squad small for everyone to gel everyone to feel important not to have people sitting on the bench.

37:29And so far it's worked, but there's almost no room for any more injuries. Now that Serge Gnabry has been injured, there is really no one on the bench of the calibre of the players that you mentioned, with the possible exception of Leonard Carver, who's still so, so young. So Bayern look for a little bit more depth. And that's why I think whoever comes, whether it's Anthony Gordon or anyone else in that similar position, will get a lot of game time because Luis Diaz has been a machine who's played every single game when he's been picked, of course, sometimes rested. An absolute machine physically and also in terms of performance, but you wonder how long that can go on and you want to give the likes of him and Michael Olisse a bit more rest at times.

38:16So Bayern need more bodies up front. So James, in a word, best front three, Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich? Come on, you know this answer.

38:27James Horncastle:The best team I've seen live this season was Bayern Munich. Slightly on the fence, but I think we've got an answer. Let's bring in another guest now on EuroLeague's On5 Live Sports because he is carrying the proud tradition of British coaches cutting their teeth in Scandinavia. Roy Hodgson, of course, and Graham Potter are two of the bigger names to do it, both coaching in Sweden early in their careers. And of course, Graham Potter is Sweden boss right now. And after a successful stint in Finland with SJK Senujoki, Scottish coach Stevie Greve has now taken charge of five-time Swedish champions Helsingborgs as they try to bounce back to the Swedish top flight.

39:08And I'm delighted to say Stevie joins us now. Hi, Stevie. Thanks so much for joining us. Three games into the season, won two, lost one. You've got a game tomorrow as well away from home. How's the season started for you? Yeah, it's been quite good. We got off to a good start in the season premiere and then with a really bad game the second game. But we bounced back really well in the third game last weekend. So a good start of the first three. You've got an amazing CV. Tell the guys about your coaching journey and where it is taking you. You have really travelled around the world. Yeah, I've been lucky.

39:40Like I've been coaching since I was 16. I've been to America, Canada, Finland, Sweden, India, Switzerland, Scotland. and worked in England for a bit, done some consultation stuff around the world. Yeah, it's been quite an adventure. Yeah, so you began so early. Tell me how that started then, how your coaching journey started when you were just 16 or 17. Yeah, I was actually playing futsal and then some kids were watching me and I was doing like elasticals and rainbows over people's heads and stuff and then some of the real young kids came and asked how you do them so I was teaching them and then I must have been quite good at teaching them because Steve McPhee, who used to be the head of the coaching company in the council, he came and asked me if I wanted a job, but I think I was 15 at the time, so I had to wait a few months before I could get a job.

40:28That's really how it started. So you were doing these amazing tricks and skills, and these kids spotted it, and then someone spotted that and said, wow, that guy would be a great coach. That's an incredible story. Yeah, in Perth, where kind of footsy started in Scotland, I was just playing, and because I was doing the things, and there was a lot of kids playing, So everybody wants to do something new. So, yeah, that's kind of where it started. So talk to us about the job you did in Finland, how you came to get that job. And you coached some big games, the Europa Conference League that the club were involved in, weren't they?

40:59Yeah, like I went over initially as the B team coach, which is in the Finnish second division. The coach had left and there was, I think I joined one game into the season and we nearly got promoted. And then because the B team did so well, nearly getting promoted to the top division, I moved up to the first team job, Keeney, who was the coach before me, went to Saudi. My first year, we were expected to be in the bottom half and we qualified for Europe. So it was quite a good achievement. We brought up eight players from my academy team. So we did it with one of the top five youngest teams in the world.

41:29Julien Laurens:I mean, your CV is really impressive. All those clubs, all those countries that you visit, was that because you wanted to, I don't know, broaden your mind maybe? You wanted to see those different countries in the football or it just happened that you just saw those jobs and applied for them and then got a job or, you know, what was the logic if there was one even? Honestly, no logic. It was, there's a job going in India. I met the guy when I was working in Switzerland. I liked the project. I thought, let's try India for a few years. I went there for three years and then when I was in India, I had my own TV show and stuff like that.

42:05So I would, don't just say that, don't just say that quickly. You had your intro

42:08Julien Laurens:like if it was random. So, I, so like, you're like Kim Kardashian. Basically, there was the Kardashian and then there's the Greaves. He was nicknamed the Scottish Gary Neville in India. This is true, isn't it? Tell us about this TV show. You can't just say you had a TV show. Yeah, like I got asked to do punditry on a Monday. And then I got a one-show contract. And then we did the Champions League Tuesday, Wednesday. And then I had a one-show contract that went to one week and then one month. Then the end of the season. And it was when Davey Moyes was the coach of Man United, so in 2013. And then in my second season, I had a one-year contract.

42:42and after, I think, two game weeks in the Champions League, they bought the Piero software and gave him a long TV show. Honestly, it's surreal. You guys are on TV, you know what it's like, but it's surreal seeing yourself the first couple of times. Was that really your nickname, the Scottish Gary Neville? Is that true? It was actually one of the boys on my B licence was taking the Mac. I was doing the B licence and the boys were hammering me, like, Scottish Gary Neville's here. And I was like, come on, man. And now it's Helsingborgs. I mean, for me, I don't know if you agree, guys, But that's a big name, isn't it?

43:13I remember when I think Helsingborgs, I think some big European fixtures, James, back in the late 90s and 2000s and 2010s. It's a big club.

43:22James Horncastle:Yeah, they famously knocked out Inter Milan, I think, in the first round of UEFA Cup, which led Marcelo Lippi to basically tell the Inter players that they needed to kick up the backside and then he left a game afterwards. The goalkeeper coach actually saved the penalty. So the current goalkeeper coach is still there. Amazing. Really? It's Ben Anderson that saved the penalty to qualify for the Champions League. He's still the goalie coach now. Does it feel like a big club? Does it feel like a big club that you've walked into? Yeah, like where I've come from, there's not like much media attention.

43:56No matter how well you do or how successful the club is, the media attention is quite small. You come to Elsenborg and there's like four or five journalists watching training every day, taking notes, asking emails and questions. You get phone calls at all hours. It's pretty full on, even like when you go down the street, even though it's a small city of 150 ,000 it takes me 45 minutes now which is 20 minutes longer to walk home because people always stop you It's... Yeah, like I didn't...

44:21James Horncastle:The Scottish Gary Neville, I mean, come on Yeah, yeah, come on I'm a bit better looking than him Are the people supportive? What are the fans like at Helsingborgs? What's the atmosphere like in the stadium? Do you know what? It's good I've spent so much time trying to change the narrative and the mentality around the club because we've been in the second division for four years and we shouldn't be. So it's trying to change the mentality and the narrative. And I think the fans have really bought in. In the first game of the season, they put up a big one of those Tifos with noisy and hostile, which is kind of what I've said I want the fans to be.

44:54They've got the pyro and the fireworks and the Tifos and stuff. It's a good atmosphere now. So you called on them. You said noisy and hostile. That's your kind of motto, is it? You called on the fans to be like that for the season? Yeah, I think if you've got a 17 ,000-seater stadium and it's the biggest club in the league, we should use the fans as a home advantage. Like some of the teams we play against that maybe have 1 ,200 fans in this. You come to our stadium, there's minimum 8 ,000. And it's, of course, it's a completely different environment when it's, you know, noisy and hostile. So we want to use the fans to our advantage.

45:26And I've kind of pressed on that since December.

45:28Julien Laurens:What kind of level are we talking? League one, league two, something like that? Really good standard of league one? Yeah, it's probably closer to like top end league two. like Al Svenskens like bottom end championship top end league one whereas Super Eton's top end league two bottom end league one but obviously significantly lower salaries when you coach in so many different areas uh sorry and countries and so on can you still develop your own style or have you do you always have to adapt to what elasticos and rainbows rougher that's it it's just it works it works everywhere that elasticos do you know like when i when i played at the very bad level I played that I was kind of like a free role player and don't give me too many instructions so I kind of take that as a coach no matter where I've been it's give the players some some guidelines and some movements you want to see and some attacking actions but in the end it's it's the behaviors and intentions that you want to try and elicit from the players so for me like we don't really have the the team I left before didn't really have positions we have centre-backs playing number 10 and full-backs coming into centre-back and strikers just wandering around We didn't have many positions, whereas this team is a little bit more rigid than my previous team.

46:35So the idea is always to be attack-minded with all our actions and to try and press as aggressively as possible. If we can have a lot of freedom in the attacking movement and try and... You know when you watch a lot of teams and it's like 3-2-4-1 positional playing, you can go man-to-man and the game becomes stuck? I don't like that, so I just give the players more freedom to wander around. Our left winger, you can quite often see him underlapping on the right-hand side because he's got a three-year-old. He's not the only one. There's three or four that will have three-year-olds, but it's a work in progress.

47:06Sounds like a fun team to watch. We're going to check out Helsingborgs games. What's the dream now? I know you'd be hoping to stay at Helsingborgs for a long time and getting them promoted back into the top flight, but would the dream one day be to return to Britain, return to Scotland or return to English football? Yeah, I've always said I'd kind of like to coach one of the bigger teams in Scotland. So at some point to coach one of the big two and to try and maybe coach Scotland in the future as the national team coach when I'm a lot older. So, yeah, I'd like to work at the highest level possible.

47:38I always said I wanted to coach in the Champions League. So if I can get to that level, I'll be pretty happy. And finally, Stevie, were you tempted first trading session at Helsingborgs to bring out the Elastico? No, it was sick for January and, yeah, it was too cold for them. Too much snow for that. Stevie, it's been great to speak to you. We will follow your progress and Helsingborg's progress on Euroleagues with interest. Brilliant to speak to you. That is Stevie Grieve, who is the coach of Helsingborg's in Sweden. Remember the name because I think he has a big future in the next few years.

48:10Let's end by going to Italy. And there's been a lot of talk about Leicester City this week. We won't get into that. My club who I support. I know a couple of the guys are desperate to talk about this. We're going to move on swiftly.

48:27But let's talk about what happened 10 years ago, because 10 years ago, Claudio Ranieri was in charge and amazingly, they won the league. But now Claudio Ranieri is senior advisor at Roma and he's had a big, very public row with the manager at Roma, Gian Piero Gasparini. And it seems, James, that Ranieri might be leaving. The reports in the Italian press that he might be going. I've seen Gazetta della Sport, their headline, Ranieri on the edge, waiting for the Friedkin's decision. That's the owners. The departure of the senior advisor is near. That's a shame, isn't it? The legend Claudio Ranieri leaving Roma again?

49:03James Horncastle:Yeah, it really is. You know, I've had some conversations this evening. He's set to go. They're just preparing a statement. The sporting director, Ricky Massara, who is someone who is very close to Claudio Ranieri, might leave as well on the back of this. This all comes down to an interview that Claudio Ranieri gave before a game a fortnight ago. It's quite unusual, really, for him to do a flash interview before a game. That's usually what the sporting director does in Italy. He just wanted to set the record straight because there have been a lot of reports about a rift between himself and Gian Piero Gasparini.

49:43James Horncastle:Gasparini, as good a coach as he is, he's very forthright in his press conferences. You know, he's been very critical of some of the signings that they made. He's been critical of the medical staff. And, yeah, I think Ranieri felt that he needed to speak in order to say, right, this is how things really were. I had a list of five coaches that I wanted to hire. Three of them said no. The club chose Giampiero Gasparini. All of the signings that we made were approved by him. It wasn't the case that he only got two of the players that he wanted. and Claudio, not just this avuncular, but almost grandfather-like figure.

50:24James Horncastle:It was quite surprising to see him speak in the manner that he did. For someone who is from that city, who supports that club, it's been very interesting to see the reaction because I wouldn't say the fans have turned on Ranieri, but they have been very supportive of Gianpiero Gasparini. the first game back last week against Atalanta when his name was read out by the stadium announcer. Massive roar for Gasparini. The Freakins, who obviously own Everton, wanted a reconciliation, but it appears that that reconciliation has been impossible. And, you know, as much as Ranieri wanted this senior advisor role because he wants to spend a little bit more time with the grandkids, you know, and have a little bit more time off, you know what's happened with the Italian national team is also I think I wouldn't say had an impact on his decision but certainly at the moment there's a feeling that if a particular presidential candidate gets the job to be the next Italian football federation president then Ranieri might have a role within that Italian football federation to be some kind of technical director above a coach So let's see.

51:35James Horncastle:But yes, certainly not what Ranieri envisaged when he took the senior advisor role on the back of doing a fantastic job last year where, remember, Roma went through three coaches last year. They were close to the relegation zone and they were to the Champions League and then they finished just one point off the Champions League because of the job that Ranieri did before he moved upstairs. So, yeah, not the way he would have liked to have gone out, I don't think. That's interesting, the crowd reaction, Rafa. Are you surprised that the fans seem to be Team Gasparini rather than Team Ranieri there?

52:09Yeah, a little bit. But then I guess there's a natural disposition to be slightly more sympathetic to a coach who you feel hasn't been given the right tools to succeed by those upstairs rather than the other way around. But yeah, I'm surprised and a little bit sad as well. It's a shame for it to end this way, isn't it, Jules, to see those two falling out and Ranieri on his way?

52:31Julien Laurens:Yeah. Although maybe if Ranieri's name had been, you know, read out at the stadium, he might have got a good reception as well. We will never know. But the feeling is not like that. And maybe two strong personalities like that, James, could just not work together. And Gasparini, I think he's probably very hard to work with at times. And I think maybe that was also part of the problem. But if one has to go, if you're Roma, it's better for you if Ranieri goes more than Gasparini. Even if you don't think that Gasperini has used all the potential of his squad he still has done quite well this season so there was always going to be one winner in that battle if they could not reconcilier Jules thank you very much James thank you very much as well and Rafa as well that is it for Euroleagues thanks as always for listening

53:25from across the women's game Dame Serena Vigman, welcome to the moment. Are we including Dame in your title now? You know how much an honour that is. And it's a remarkable team! And it's remarkable women! We want to play in a way that they can show their skills, so that's what we're trying to do. Win the World Cup. It's a dream. Listen. With the BBC Sounds app.