Roma have announced the appointment of Ivan Juric as the club's new manager on a deal until the end of the season.

The former Torino boss succeeds Daniele De Rossi, who was dismissed after just seven months in charge following a winless start to the Serie A campaign.

Juric's contract will reportedly be extended should the Giallorssi qualify for next season's Champions League.

The 49-year-old, who took training for the first time on Wednesday, becomes the first Croatian to manage Roma, having departed Torino at the end of last season after three years in charge of Il Toro.

Juric led Crotone to Serie A promotion in the 2015-16 campaign, while he has also overseen the fortunes of Genoa and Verona in the Italian top flight.

He will take charge of Roma for the first time on Sunday, when they welcome Udinese to Stadio Olimpico.

Roma have confirmed the sacking of head coach Daniele De Rossi after the Italian failed to win any of his first four Serie A games this season. 

De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as interim boss back in January, and had only signed a contract extension with the club in June until 2027.

But a run of three draws and one defeat to start the new campaign has seen the 41-year-old part ways with the club he made 616 appearances for as a player. 

Roma's draw with Genoa last Sunday marked only the fourth time in their history after 1974-75, 1984-85 and 2010-11 that the Giallorossi had failed to win any of their first four Serie A games. 

Koni De Winter's late leveller for Genoa also extended Roma's barren run to just one win from their last 11 games in all competitions (drawn six and lost four).

"AS Roma announces that Daniele De Rossi has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the first team," a club statement said. 

"The club's decision is made in the best interests of the team, to get back on the desired path as soon as possible at a time when the season is still in its early stages.

"A heartfelt thank you to Daniele, who will always be at home at the Giallorossi club, for the work he has done in recent months with passion and dedication.

"Communication regarding the team's technical guidance will follow."

The Italian oversaw 30 games in charge of Roma in all competitions, winning 14 of those (drawn nine and lost seven), while scoring 46 goals. 

His time at the Stadio Olimpico came to an end having averaged 1.70 points per match, accumulating a total win percentage of 46.67%. 

Former Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has joined Roma on a free transfer, the Serie A giants have confirmed.

Hummels has been without a club since he was surprisingly released by Dortmund in June, having helped them reach the Champions League final last season.

He led all centre-backs in the competition for line-breaking passes, with 133, but was unable to lead them to victory against Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium, where they were beaten 2-0.

Hummels made a total of 508 appearances across two spells with Dortmund, winning two Bundesliga titles and finishing as a Champions League runner-up on two occasions.

The 2014 World Cup winner was linked with a move to Bologna last month after they sold Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal, only to fail to agree terms with the Rossoblu.

He has instead joined Danielle De Rossi's Roma, who were in need of defensive reinforcements after allowing Chris Smalling to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Fayha.

Reports suggest he has penned a one-year deal with an option to extend his stay in the Italian capital by a further 12 months, with Roma announcing he will wear the number 15 shirt.

Hummels' debut could come at Genoa on September 15, with his first home outing potentially coming against Udinese one week later.

The Giallorossi failed to secure Champions League qualification last season and will play in the Europa League, with Athletic Bilbao their first opponents on September 26.

Juventus head coach Thiago Motta has called for more precision from his forward players after a drab goalless draw against Roma at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Motta, who had won his first two league games in charge, had to settle for a share of the spoils after seeing just one of his sides' eight shots on target. 

The hosts managed just 18 touches in the opposition's box, with striker Dusan Vlahovic presented with the only notable chance of the contest. 

And while Juventus remained unbeaten in their first three Serie A games of the season for the third year in a row, Motta was left wanting more from his forward line. 

"Today we were too frenetic. At times we did well, at times they did well, it was a really difficult and balanced game," Motta said.

"We failed to understand the right moment to hit Roma, which must be underlined, they are a great team. Offensively we can do better."

The result marked the first time since the 2014-15 campaign that Juventus have kept a clean sheet in each of their first three Serie A fixtures of the season.

But at the opposite end of the pitch, the hosts produced an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.47 compared to Roma's 0.37, further highlighting the struggles of both sides in the contest. 

Juventus head into the international break level on points with leaders Inter, with Motta praising his players' commitment to the cause during the early stages of his tenure. 

"I think it's a fair result, in a balanced match. We didn't concede and we have one more point in the standings," Motta told a press conference.

"I'm very satisfied with the group and their commitment.

"We could have done much better today in precision in the offensive phase, but the opposing team knew how to defend and not give spaces."

Juventus dropped their first points of the season under new head coach Thiago Motta as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Roma at the Allianz Stadium. 

In an encounter devoid of clear-cut chances, Daniele De Rossi's side defended astutely to claim their second point of the campaign after their defeat to Empoli last week.

Dusan Vlahovic was presented with the clearest sight of goal, but the Serbian striker saw his effort thwarted by the palms of Mile Svilar. 

The fixture in Turin saw just one shot from either side on target, with Juventus' expected goals (xG) total of 0.47 only slightly bettering their opponents' 0.37. 

Heading into the international break, Juventus sit second in the early-season standings behind Inter, meanwhile Roma move out of the bottom three and into 17th.

Data Debrief: Serie A giants fail to excite

Juventus' Vlahovic and Roma's Alexis Saelemaekers were the two credited with the encounters only efforts on target in a game that failed to live up to the billing. 

But there were positives for Motta to take, with Juventus remaining unbeaten in their first three Serie A games of the season for the third year in a row, while also registering a fourth consecutive league clean sheet, as many as they had managed in their previous 16.

Roma have failed to win any of their first three Serie A games of the season for the second season in a row. Only once have the Giallorossi failed to win their first three games in two consecutive years (2010-11 and 2011-12).

They have also scored just one goal in their first three games of the season, their worst result since 1986-87.

Tammy Abraham has secured a move to Milan, signing a season-long loan deal from Roma for the Serie A season. 

Abraham suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear at the end of the 2022-23 campaign that restricted him to just 12 appearances in all competitions last year.

The 26-year-old netted 27 times in 53 outings in his debut season with Roma, helping the side led by Jose Mourinho to Europa Conference League glory. 

But the injury has seen him fail to regain his starting spot under Daniele de Rossi, with Roma signing LaLiga's leading marksman from last season, Artem Dovbyk. 

Abraham's arrival at the San Siro marks another attacking option, having already welcomed Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid earlier in the window. 

Roma have signed Saud Abdulhamid from Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal, the Serie A club announced on Tuesday.

Reports in Italy suggest the deal for the 25-year-old defender was worth €3million.

"Roma are pleased to announce the signing of Saud Abdulhamid on a permanent deal from Al Hilal," the club said in a short statement.

The Saudi Arabia international was a key player for Jorge Jesus' side last season, netting four times and providing nine assists in all competitions to help Al Hilal win a domestic treble.

Manchester City's Joao Cancelo joined Al Hilal to replace Abdulhamid, who will be the first Saudi Arabian player to compete in Serie A.

Paulo Dybala says he thought about taking the lucrative deal offered to him from the Saudi Pro League before ultimately deciding to stay at Roma. 

The World Cup winner was being linked with a move to Al-Qadsiah, who reportedly offered him a three-year contract worth €75million.

However, Dybala chose to turn the offer down to stay in Italy and was part of the team that started their 2-1 defeat to Empoli in Serie A on Sunday.

"Everybody looks at the money, but I put many things on the table to come to my decision: my family, my wife, the city, the team, and my desire to return to the national team," Dybala told Sky Italia.

"I'm 30 and feel good. I've seen a lot of criticism about the injuries, but I try to work hard every day to take care of myself and perform the best I can."

Dybala has been a fan favourite at Roma since joining from Juventus in 2022 and has been an influential figure for the club.

He scored 16 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions last season, with only Romelu Lukaku bettering his tally (21 in 47 games).

The Argentinian was also involved in more goals than any of his team-mates (26), having registered 10 assists, while he also led the way for chances created (61) and big chances created (15) among Roma players in 2023-24.

And Dybala admitted that while he is happy with his decision to stay in the Italian capital, he did debate taking the offer.

"Surely when you see that kind of figure… I can't say I didn't think about it, but I weighed a few aspects. It made no difference to my agent. It's not true that he would have made a lot of money.

"The most important thing for him is my happiness. We've collaborated for a long time. I don't know how the Arabs reacted as I didn't speak with them directly."

Lazio got their Serie A campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Venezia.

Visitors Venezia took a shock lead through Magnus Kofod Andersen just three minutes into the match, but Lazio roared back through Valentin Castellanos eight minutes later.

A penalty from captain Mattia Zaccagni put Lazio ahead on the stroke of half-time. The Italy international has now directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, second only to Antonio Candreva (40) among midfielders.

Venezia mustered seven shots in the second half, but their comeback hopes were extinguished when Giorgio Altare turned into his own goal late on.

Lazio's city rivals Roma did not fare as well, only managing a goalless draw away to Cagliari, with both sides hitting the woodwork in that contest.

Elsewhere, Udinese began their league season with a credible draw away at Bologna.

Vincenzo Italiano's first competitive game in charge of Bologna saw them dominate the match with 22 shots to Udinese's four, and they took the lead through a Riccardo Orsolini penalty.

Orsolini is the second Bologna player to score in seven different Serie A seasons in the past 50 years, after Carlo Nervo (seven between 1996-97 and 2003-04).

But Udinese managed to draw level through Lautaro Giannetti in the 68th minute, and held on for the remainder of the encounter to deny Italiano an ideal start.

Paulo Dybala's absence from Roma's starting line-up against Everton had nothing to do with the rumours regarding his future, head coach Daniele De Rossi has said.

The Argentina international was brought on for the final 15 minutes of Saturday's 1-1 pre-season friendly draw at Goodison Park, with De Rossi fielding a strong side in Roma's final warm-up game.

Dybala has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League during the close season, but De Rossi is adamant he was not left out for that reason.

"The line-up does not depend on rumours," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Nothing influenced my decisions. I deployed the team that I wanted to see against Everton. 

"The start of the season is near, and we must be more similar to what we want to be. I experimented, like in other games. Those who came to England are all Roma players, then we'll see what happens. 

"This is true not only for Dybala but for everyone. When I was asked if there were players who should stay at all costs, I said no. Whoever wants to leave is free to do so."

Dybala scored 16 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions for Roma last season - a tally bettered only by Romelu Lukaku, who scored 21 goals in 47 outings.

No Roma player, meanwhile, was directly involved in more goals than Dybala's 26, having set up 10 for his team-mates.

The 30-year-old also led the way for chances created (61) and big chances created (15) among Roma players in all competitions in 2023-24.

Twenty-two of those combined goals and assists came in Serie A, which only Olivier Giroud (23) and Lautaro Martinez (27) of Milan and Inter Milan respectively could better.

Tammy Abraham is relishing his return to Serie A action with Roma, labelling the upcoming campaign as his season to shine under Daniele De Rossi. 

Abraham, who scored 27 goals in his debut season with the Italian side, spent much of last year on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL injury against Spezia in June. 

Despite his absence, the Giallorossi were among the top scorers in Italy's top flight, with only Inter (89), Milan (76) and Atalanta (72) scoring more than Roma's 65 league goals. 

Abraham has netted 37 goals in his 119 appearances since his move from Chelsea back in 2021, becoming the first English player in thirty years to score more than 10 goals in a Serie A season. 

The Englishman is keen to hit the ground running when Roma start their league campaign against Cagliari next week. 

"Since the first day here in Rome I have wanted to demonstrate my passion for football and my desire to help the club", Abraham said. 

"I am a smiling and always positive person. This is my first post-injury preparation, it is my season and I want to show that I am back.

"The rumours, obviously, are nice, it means you are doing well, but I am here with Roma and I am available to do my best."

Roma have signed Artem Dovbyk, who finished as top scorer in LaLiga last season, from Girona.

The 27-year-old scored 24 goals and contributed eight assists in 36 LaLiga matches in 2023-24 for Girona, who finished third after being title contenders for most of the campaign.

Roma are reported to have paid €38million for Dovbyk, who played for Ukraine at Euro 2024.

Dovbyk's LaLiga goals came from 24.29 expected goals, with the striker converting 21 of the 43 big chances that came his way.

He seemingly comes in as Roma's replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who has returned to Chelsea after a successful loan stint in the Italian capital, albeit the Belgian is being linked with Napoli.

Dovbyk had also been of interest to Atletico Madrid.

Daniele De Rossi has signed a new deal to keep him as Roma coach until 2027.

De Rossi, who spent 18 seasons at Roma as a player, took over the Giallorossi in January, following Jose Mourinho's departure.

The 40-year-old ultimately guided Roma to a sixth-place finish in Serie A as well as a Europa League semi-final, which they lost to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Roma said: "Before the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, the owners – the Friedkin Group – had announced in a note their desire to continue with De Rossi.

"The club's intentions then turned into a three-year contract, which the coach signed with enthusiasm, continuing the natural symbiosis with this team, his team. Rome."

As well as confirming De Rossi's new deal, Roma announced that striker Andrea Belotti had completed a move to newly promoted Como, who are coached by Cesc Fabregas.

Romelu Lukaku is open to joining a Saudi Pro League club one year after rejecting Al-Hilal, as Chelsea look to get the striker off the books.

Chelsea re-signed Lukaku for an estimated £97.5million in 2021, but he has spent the last two seasons on loan at Inter and Roma after struggling at Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku scored 21 goals for Roma in 2023-24 and the Giallorossi are keen on keeping him at the Stadio Olimpico, but cannot match Chelsea's reported £37m asking price.

The Blues accepted an offer for Lukaku's services from Al-Hilal last year, when several big-name players swapped Europe's top leagues for the Saudi Pro League, but the Belgian rejected the move.

He is now more open to playing in the country after discussing the prospect with international team-mate Yannick Carrasco, who left Atletico Madrid for Al-Shabab last September.

Recalling his decision to turn Al-Hilal down, Lukaku told VTM: "It was really intense for two weeks. For two days in a row I thought, 'yes, I'm going', then, 'no, I'm not going'.

"I was scared for a moment, everyone only went there after I declined the offer.

"I have often spoken with Yannick about life there. He lives in a complex, but you really have everything there."

 

Lukaku, who is gearing up to represent Belgium at his sixth major tournament at Euro 2024, says patience will be required as he weighs up his next move.

"A lot of people like to talk, maybe because I don't have an agent, but I'll decide," he added. "I'm in control of my situation. 

"I'm going to make a choice and once I explain it, everyone will agree with me."

Lukaku scored 14 goals in just eight games in Euro 2024 qualifying, a record for a European Championship qualification campaign. Those goals came from just 29 shots, with the 31-year-old averaging a goal every 39 minutes.

He is also Belgium's all-time leading scorer at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), with 11 goals in 22 matches.

However, just two of those strikes have come in knockout games, against the United States in the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup and versus Italy in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.

Paulo Dybala admits his omission from Argentina's squad for the upcoming Copa America was "a very tough blow", but fully respects the decision of head coach Lionel Scaloni.

The Roma forward was left out of the 29-player party for the tournament in the United States, where La Albiceleste will be defending the title they won three years ago.

Dybala enjoyed a productive 2023-24 season with Roma, scoring 16 goals in 39 appearances, though injury struggles did hamper his progress.

Nevertheless, the 30-year-old - who was part of his nation's 2022 World Cup triumph - was surprised not to be included.

"I felt like I did some good things this year," he told The Athletic. "I was confident about making the squad, so it was a very tough blow for me to take, because being part of the national team is one of the best things ever.

"But I also understand that it’s hard for our coach to choose. I respect his decision. I’ve got a great relationship with him, and he has certainly chosen the best for the team."

Dybala also spoke about his future with just one year remaining on his existing contract with Roma.

"Italy has given me everything," added Dybala, who has played in Serie A for 12 years having also had spells with Juventus and Palermo.

"It'd be hard to leave but, of course, you always have the curiosity and wonder how you'd do in leagues as good as LaLiga and the Premier League, where there are great teams and great players."

Argentina, who will play Chile, Peru and Canada in Group A at the Copa America, will complete their preparations for the tournament with friendlies against Ecuador on June 9 and Guatemala five days later.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.