De Rossi's sudden firing at Roma raises questions over market moves and a possible power struggle

ROME (AP) — Backroom clashes with Roma CEO and general manager Lina Souloukou. Frustration over the way the club attempted to offload prized forward Paulo Dybala to Saudi Arabia. The failed acquisition of Federico Chiesa.

Reports over why Daniele De Rossi suddenly fell out of favor at Roma are running rampant in the Italian capital — and it’s not just about the squad going winless in its opening four matches this season.

Owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin could quell the speculation and explain why they fired the beloved former club captain De Rossi and hired Ivan Jurić to coach the club.

But the Friedkins have never spoken publicly in the four years since they purchased Roma from fellow American James Pallotta.

“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,” Roma said in a brief statement on Wednesday. “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.”

The single sentence devoted to De Rossi was a far cry from the 2 ½-minute video capturing his career as both a player and a coach that Roma produced in June when the club extended his contract for three more years.

The contract extension was made official two months after it was first announced, and only five months after De Rossi was hired to replace José Mourinho.

“We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele,” the Friedkins said in an April statement.

So, what happened between June and mid-September?

Well, Roma’s transfer campaign began late when Florent Ghisolfi was hired as sporting director at the end of May after producing success at Lens and Nice.

Romelu Lukaku’s loan spell ended. Fullback Leonardo Spinazzola didn’t have his contract renewed and signed with Napoli on a free transfer.

De Rossi acknowledged that he didn’t know the first signing, Enzo Le Fée, a French midfielder who plays in the same position where De Rossi once excelled.

Fullback Nicola Zalewski and midfielder Edoardo Bove, both homegrown 22-year-olds, were removed from the squad. Zalewski is out of favor after refusing transfers while Bove was loaned to Fiorentina.

Asked about Zalewski, De Rossi said it was “a choice the club made.”

Chiesa, who was at the top of De Rossi’s wish list, left Juventus for Liverpool, and forwards Matías Soulé and Artem Dovbyk were signed instead. Former Germany center back Mats Hummels, who was out of contract, was a late addition and still hasn't made his debut for Roma.

“If you’ve practically revolutionized the squad you’ve got to give him time — not fire him after four rounds,” Fabio Capello, who coached Roma to its last Serie A title in 2001, said in the Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.

Dybala had entertained a lucrative move to Al-Qadsiah that would have been welcomed by Roma’s cost-cutting management. But then the often-injured forward unexpectedly decided to turn down the Saudi Arabian offer that would have earned him nearly $85 million over three years and stay at Roma, where he had reportedly already cleaned out his locker.

Dybala’s contract with Roma expires at the end of this season and he reportedly has a clause in his contract that requires 15 appearances this season for an automatic renewal for one more year.

Since deciding to stay, he has played in all three of Roma’s matches — which could have meant that De Rossi was going against management’s wishes.

“Coach, it hasn’t been many months, but they were sufficient to convey many things on a sporting and a humane level,” Dybala wrote on Instagram after De Rossi’s firing was announced. “Soccer is often unfair.”

But soccer is also big business and the Friedkins have poured nearly $1 billion in investments into Roma without seeing the team compete once in the lucrative Champions League. Mourinho directed the team to the Conference League title in 2022 and the Europa League final a year later; and De Rossi helped the club to the Europa League semifinals last season.

But having been unable to build its own stadium after first presenting plans a decade ago, Roma is still struggling financially and was recently fined 2 million euros ($2.22 million) by UEFA for “slightly” exceeding an intermediate savings target.

Jurić was given a contract through the end of the season that includes an automatic renewal in the case of Champions League qualification.

The work starts Sunday when surprise Serie A leader Udinese visits the Stadio Olimpico, where fans could protest over the firing of De Rossi.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Genoa's Alessandro Vogliacco fights for the ball with Roma's Niccolo Pisilli, left, during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Roma at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

FILE - Roma's head coach Daniele De Rossi calls out to his players during the Europa League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between AC Milan and Roma at the San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Roma's head coach Daniele De Rossi waits for the start of the Europa League second leg semi-final soccer match between Leverkusen and Roma at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Genoa's Caleb Ekuban, left, and Roma's Paulo Dybala battle for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Roma at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

FILE - Roma manager Daniele De Rossi speaks to his team during a Serie A soccer match against Atalanta at Gewiss Stadium, in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Pitcher Alex Cobb was dropped from Cleveland's American League Championship Series roster on Tuesday after he got hurt yet again in the opener, leaving the Guardians in search of a Game 5 starter against the New York Yankees.

“It’s been a challenging year. Timing of this one coming in the postseason makes it extra difficult," Cobb said. "It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for my whole career and to not be able to contribute — to put the team in a hole yesterday was challenging.”

Cobb left Monday's 5-2 loss after 2 2/3 innings. The 37-year-old right-hander is ineligible to pitch for the remainder of the postseason.

“He was diagnosed with a lower back strain,” manager Stephen Vogt said before Cleveland dropped to 0-2 in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday with a 6-3 loss. “This type of injury would be a full blown IL stint, and with the timing of the year, the chances of him pitching again were very, very, very slim.”

Cobb was replaced on the roster by Ben Lively, a 32-year-old right-hander who was Cleveland’s winningest pitcher this season at 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts.

“We don’t know what we’re going to have,” Vogt said. “Alex was going to start Game 5. Now we have to figure out today knowing that we have six more games to cover.”

Lively and left-hander Gavin Williams are candidates to start Game 3 on Thursday in Cleveland.

Cobb pitched just 22 innings over five games this year, including the regular season and playoffs.

A 2023 All-Star, Cobb had hip surgery on Oct. 31 and hadn’t yet returned to the mound when he was acquired by Cleveland from San Francisco at the July 30 trade deadline.

He made his season debut Aug. 9 and was sidelined after two games by a torn nail on his right index finger. He didn’t allow an earned run over six innings in his Sept. 1 return against Pittsburgh, then went back on the injured list with a blister on his right middle finger that ended his regular season.

Cobb went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in the playoffs. He received a $10 million salary this year under a club option that was exercised and can become a free agent after the World Series.

Lively last pitched Sept. 28 against Houston on the next-to-last day of the regular season.

“I’m just staying on the same workout program as I was when I was starting: workout day, heavy bullpen day mixed in between and just try to stay built up,” Lively said.

He has faced the Yankees once, on May 19 last year for Cincinnati, when he allowed a home run to Aaron Judge in the first inning and issued a sixth-inning walk to Judge, who scored on Anthony Rizzo's homer off reliever Ian Gibaut in a 6-2 New York win.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Alex Cobb reacts after walking New York Yankees' Anthony Volpe during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez)