Former Roma and Serie A coach Eusebio di Francesco is now a leading candidate to become Wolves’ new manager with 90Min reporting that the Italian is interested in a move to the Premier League.
Football really is the most fickle of mistresses.
You only have to look at the rise and fall of Di Francesco to realise how changeable the winds can be at the very top level.
The former Italy international made his mark at the Mapei Stadium, taking Sassuolo from Serie B into Europe for the very first time while transforming I Neroverdi into one of the continent’s most consistent overachievers.
Then came a move to Roma, and that iconic Champions League quarter-final triumph over Barcelona. A result which seemed to confirm Di Francesco’s emergence as one of the most talented, up-and-coming tacticians anywhere on the continent.
Could Eusebio di Francesco replace Bruno Lage as Wolves manager?
“We had a long way to go after the first leg,” Roma captain Daniele de Rossi beamed following that 3-0 thumping of the Catalan giants; a victory inspired by Di Francesco’s new-look 3-5-2 formation and a relentless high press.
“All credit to the coach because he invented this formation two days ago. He drilled it into our heads and it worked wonders.”
The goodwill didn’t last long. Di Francesco was sacked by Roma less than a year later. And, following short-lived and ill-fated spells at Cagliari, Sampdoria and Hellas Verona – lasting just four games in his most recent managerial role – the 53-year-old has gone from tactical mastermind to supposed busted flush in the blink of an eye.
Wolves’ interest, then, is likely to divide the Molineux fanbase right down the middle. 90Min say that Di Francesco is now being ‘seriously considered’ by the Black Country bosses. And the man himself is desperate to make his mark on UK soil.
But would Wolves be getting the Di Francesco who stunned Barcelona, and turned Sassuolo into Serie A stalwarts? Or the one who averaged a lower-than 25 per cent win rate in charge of Hellas Verona, Sampdoria and Cagliari?
Wolves managerial search continues
“When, as in my case, a coach does not do well in less than thirty games, it is also because he has not had the opportunity to develop a suitable project,” Di Francesco tells La Gazzetta dello Sport; defending himself on the back of three successive quick-fire sackings.
“Let’s say there is a bit of regret on my part. I hold no grudges. I just want to get back into the game. After all, (as well as taking Roma to the Champions League semi-finals) I also led Sassuolo to the Europa League.”
Pedro Martins, Ruben Amorim, Steve Cooper and Julen Lopetegui are also candidates for the Wolves job. Carlos Carvalhal, meanwhile, is available after leaving Al Wahda on Monday. Lopetegui could also lose his role at Sevilla.
The La Liga giants are enduring their worst start in 41 years.
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