'The Normal One' - Claudio Ranieri is working miracles again at his beloved Roma after his Leicester City fairy tale and great escapes at Cagliari

The story was, of course, meant to end in Sardinia last summer - and in pleasingly circular circumstances.

Some 33 years after incredibly saving Cagliari from relegation to Serie B, he repeated the feat with a 2-0 win at Sassuolo on May 19. What had made the escape all the greater was the fact that Ranieri had offered to resign in February 2024, with the Islanders 19th in the Serie A standings after 14 losses in 24 games.

Cagliari's players, though, convinced him to continue, so unwavering was their belief in their veteran boss, and when the full-time whistle blew at the Mapei Stadium, an overwhelmed Ranieri burst into tears.

He still had a year left on his contract with the Rossoblu but it felt, looked and sounded as if the man who had led Leicester City to the most astounding league triumph in the history of football had nothing left to give to a game that has been blessed by his presence.

"I have decided to leave now and it is the right thing to do," Ranieri said in a video posted by Cagliari. "I do it reluctantly because it was a hard and painful decision, but I think it is right."

Ranieri's retirement didn't last long, though.

Just four games into the 2024-25 season, Roma sacked club legend Daniele De Rossi, who had done a fantastic job restoring order at the Stadio Olimpico following Jose Mourinho's tumultuous tenure.

It was a dreadful decision by the club's owners, The Friedkin Group, but then the Americans made an even worse one, by appointing Ivan Juric as De Rossi's successor. The Croatian lasted fewer than two months at the helm, fired after four defeats in five league games.

The retired Ranieri was publicly critical of the way in which his hometown club was being run. "Roma seem to have a cold soul without personality," he told RAI Radio 1.

"I didn’t understand what they did with De Rossi. When you confirm him with a three-year contract, you tell the world you are building a new team. At that point, you must give time to the coach, you can’t sack him after four rounds.

"Roma lack a leading figure. You can't blame the Friedkins because they've invested a lot of money, but they are proving that money is not everything.

"They lack a reference point inside the club."

Perhaps Ranieri's lament struck a chord with the Friedkins, because when they got rid of Juric just a few weeks later, they asked the Premier League winner if he would be willing to return to Roma.

Ranieri had already rejected offers from several other clubs to resume his coaching career or accept advisory roles - including one from former club Chelsea - but he felt he could not say no to the team he had supported since he was a boy.

"Roma is my life," he explained in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport. "And now that I have more experience, I'm vaccinated against every situation! But it's also the realisation of a childhood dream, for somebody who used to stand on the Curva Sud."

Of course, they say you should never go back in football and Roma were in a far worse state than Ranieri had found them at the start of his two previous tenures.

The Giallorossi were 12th in the Serie A table with just 13 points from their first 12 games, making it the club's worst start to a season since 1979, and ultras were in open revolt against the owners.

Ranieri's impact was not exactly instantaneous, at least not in terms of results, with Roma losing three of his first four games in charge. However, his positive outlook made for a stark contrast to all of the negativity surrounding the club.

As Ranieri's agent Pietro Chiodi pointed out in the Corriere dello Sport, in less than a year, Roma had gone from "'The Special One' to 'The Normal One'", meaning the focus shifted from blaming others for defeats to concentrating solely on what they could improve to start winning more games.

"The commitment was there," he told DAZN after the 2-0 loss at Como on December 15. "We gave our all but it wasn't enough. "There was some uncertainty [in our game] but we have to go forward with the desire to take Roma higher and higher up the table."

And, in fairness to Ranieri's players, that's exactly what they've done.

Roma haven't lost a single league game since Como, and have taken 20 points from a possible 24 since the turn of the year. Consequently, the Giallorossi are sixth in the standings going into Sunday's meeting with fifth-placed Juventus at the Olimpico.

What's more, another win wouldn't just draw them level with the Bianconeri, it would also move them to within a point of Bologna in the fourth and final Champions League berth, as Vincenzo Italiano's team don't play title-challenging Napoli until the following night.

So, how has Ranieri done it? How has he revived Roma in such a short period of time? Well, as the man himself has said, this isn't exactly his first rodeo.

"I tend to get called in during problematic situations at clubs and I try to bring serenity, a hard work ethic and restore some confidence," he told DAZN.

Making full use of the squad at his disposal has also helped. For example, Mats Hummels and Leandro Paredes had barely played during the first three months of the season but have featured regularly under Ranieri (particularly Paredes).

"It seemed only logical for me to start two World Cup winners," Ranieri pointed out.

The availability of Alexis Saelemaekers has also been key to Roma's resurgence under Ranieri, as the Belgian winger has hit six Serie A goals since returning from injury in December, but the coach deserves great credit for lifting the spirits of Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante, who did not respond well at all to being targeted by dissatisfied ultras earlier in the season.

Ranieri even pulled off something of a man-management masterstroke by making Pellegrini captain for the January 5 meeting with Lazio, as the under-fire attacking midfielder scored an early opening goal in a 2-0 victory that significantly boosted his morale - and that of the whole team - while at the same time preserving his coach's perfect record in Rome derbies.

Ranieri has also slowly but surely restored the fragile confidence of star summer signing Artem Dovbyk, who now has scored three times in his past four league outings after a very erratic run of form in front of goal, while also being rewarded for putting his faith in youngsters Matias Soule (21) and Tommaso Baldanzi (22).

Perhaps Ranieri's most impressive feat, though, has been sorting out a defence that was being brutally exposed on a weekly basis under Juric, with Roma having conceded just one goal in their past seven games.

Given the stunning change in fortunes, Ranieri is now being regularly asked if there's any chance of another dramatic U-turn. He insists, though, that his mind is made up: "I began at Roma as a player and I will finish there as an executive."

And as for his successor? Ranieri says he just hopes "we found someone younger than me!" Meeting that particular requirement shouldn't be too difficult, but Roma need not even attempt to find anything resembling a like-for-like replacement.

Because if Roma's miraculous revival has done nothing else, it's reminded us that there will never be another Ranieri.