Chelsea are enjoying life at the moment under Claudio Ranieri, fourth in the Premiership and preparing for an FA Cup semi-final. But the improvement has brought its own problems, with Barcelona approaching the Italian about taking over at the Nou Camp.
The Spanish club will replace their coach Carles Rexach this summer and Ranieri is on their short list. His Italian representative Vinicio Fioranelli is reported to have met Barcelona's sports director Anton Parera in the Catalan capital last week.
"We have spoken to Claudio Ranieri, Javier Irureta [of Deportivo La Coruna] and Carlos Bianchi [ex-Boca Juniors]," said Barcelona's vice-president Angel Fernandez. "There was also contact with Fabio Capello but we could not accept some of his demands." Internazionale's Hector Cuper was added to the list by Fernandez in another interview.
Chelsea's chairman Ken Bates would doubtless fight any attempt by Barcelona to take Ranieri, who enjoyed success in Spain with Valencia. He recently offered his coach a two-year extension to his contract, which has a season to run.
Ranieri has yet to commit himself to those extra two years, preferring to see out the season before thinking ahead. His future presumably cropped up in conversation with Bates yesterday. The pair were at Stamford Bridge, where Bates was celebrating the 20th anniversary of his arrival as chairman.
Last week Ranieri gave no hint that he was keen to leave a job he started in September 2000 as Luca Vialli's successor. "I am very happy with the chairman, my staff and the players," he said. "I said thank you very much for the new contract offer. It's important that your chairman appreciates your work. It's fantastic but we will wait until the end of the season."
Some Spanish sources suggest Ranieri is Barca's first choice, though there is thought to be opposition within the club because he does not have a reputation for producing the flowing football Barca fans expect. ·The Italian Football Federation is to look into media claims that a Torino player may have told a team-mate to concede a goal deliberately during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bologna in Serie A.
Commentators on the Italian television channel Tele Piu claimed that a lip-reading of part of the conversation could indicate that Fabio Galante was instructing his fellow defender Daniele Delli Carri to allow Bologna to score. The claim has been rejected by players and officials of both teams.
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