Ranieri bids tearful farewell to Cagliari with last-gasp Fiorentina defeat
Claudio Ranieri waved goodbye to Cagliari and brought the curtain down on a near four-decade club coaching career with Thursday's 3-2 defeat to Fiorentina cruelly inflicted in the 13th minute of added time.
Arthur stroked home Fiorentina's goal from the penalty spot after Luca Beltran earned the away side, who trailed 2-1 in the 85th minute, a soft spot-kick given after a long VAR check.
Fiorentina won and ensured European football with the last kick of Ranieri's last match in charge of Cagliari, the former Premier League winner now effectively retired even if he admitted in an interview with Sky in Italy that he would be interested in a national team job.
However Thursday's defeat made little difference to Ranieri or Cagliari as last weekend he saved from relegation the same club with whom he rose to prominence in the late 1980s.
Ranieri began his managerial career in amateur football in 1986 but turned heads by guiding Cagliari to Serie A with two successive promotions in 1989 and 1990.
Ranieri welled up on the sidelines ahead of kick-off as fans chanted his name and a standing ovation rolled around the stands, while a banner was unfurled which read "Eternal gratitude to a great man".
The 72-year-old said that his decision to quit had been made with a "heavy heart", worrying that he would tarnish two brilliant spells with Cagliari by staying on.
Ranieri, who guided Cagliari to promotion last season after being hired in January, had offered to quit following just three points from the first nine matches of the season.
But the club and players convinced him to stay and survival was dedicated to Ranieri, who has been frequently hailed by his team as an inspiration.
"He's taught us things that are valuable not just on the pitch, but in life in general," said Gianluca Lapadula to DAZN pre-match.
"If you don't fight for your teammate, the man next to you, you'll never go anywhere."
Ranieri is most famous for winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016 but is a popular figure at a host of clubs even if he has only won a handful of major honours in his career.
An Italian Cup with Fiorentina and three trophies with Valencia go alongside his heart-warming English championship win eight years ago.
td/nr
