AS Roma appoint Paulo Fonseca as head coach

The former Shakhtar Donetsk's manager lead the Ukranian outfit to three straight domestic doubles.

AS Roma have appointed Paulo Fonseca on a two year deal with an option for a third year as well. The Portuguese head coach managed Shakhtar Donetsk for three years before joining La Lupas. He has won three straight domestic doubles of Ukranian Premier League and the Ukranian Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk since 2016.

The manager is the long term replacement of Eusebio Di Francesco, who took AS Roma to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2017-18 season. But after they were knocked out at the Round of 16 stage by FC Porto in the recently concluded season, the club sacked the manager.

Claudio Ranieri was appointed as the interim boss for the remaining of the season but the Italian made it clear that he did not intend to stay beyond his contract. A permanent replacement was needed. 

Antonio Conte, Rafael Benitez and Maurizio Sarri were on the radar to arrive in Rome for the job but the management went for the 46-year-old manager. "I am very pleased to be appointed the head coach of Roma," Fonseca said. "I want to thank the club's management for the opportunity they have given me."

"I am excited and motivated by the task ahead of us. I cannot wait to move to Rome, meet our fans and get started. Together, I believe we can create something special."

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President James Palotta said, "We are delighted to welcome Paulo Fonseca to the club. Paulo is a young and ambitious coach with international experience, a winning mentality and a reputation for bold, attacking football that will excite our fans.

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"From the very first conversations we had with him, he made it very clear he wanted to come to Roma and was excited about the challenge of working with our players and putting out a team that the fans can be proud of."

Paulo Fonseca's Shakhtar Donetsk were knocked out of Champions League in the same season when AS Roma beat FC Barcelona 4-4 on away goals in 2017-18. Although Roma finished sixth in Serie A in 2018-19, missing out on Champions League qualification by just three points under Ranieri.