Source: SKY_Sports
Ranieri - Sack still hurts
Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri maintains that he was not given a fair chance at the club, ahead of making his Stamford Bridge return.[LNB] Ranieri will lead out his Juventus side for the UEFA Champions League last 16 clash, ready to face his former employers almost five years after being sacked.[LNB]And with the recent dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari still fresh in the mind, the man who served as the first managerial casualty of Roman Abramovich's reign has spoken out once again.[LNB]"I was someone Abramovich had found at Chelsea," said the former Fiorentina, Valencia and Atletico Madrid boss.[LNB]"When they want to get a manager to replace you but they can't - and that's the reason they just give you a chance - then you know it will be impossible. [LNB]"I was thinking 'Even if I win everything I will still get the sack'."[LNB]SadnessRanieri spent a successful four years with the club, but it is the final year under the club's Russian owner that stays long in the memory for the 57-year-old.[LNB]Despite leading Chelsea to a second-place finish and the semi-finals of the Champions League, Ranieri's fate was sealed - and unfairly so in the Italian's mind.[LNB]"I spoke to Abramovich before he let me go and said 'I'm sorry you're new at the club because an owner who's been in football for some time and sees what I have done for this club would never sack me - NEVER," he remarked.[LNB]"He would give me the opportunity to complete my work. To do what I've done is incredible'. At the end of the season there were about 10 days that Abramovich was thinking about it before deciding to get Jose Mourinho. [LNB]"It saddens me that I was unable to finish my work." [LNB]'Worth it'After enjoying some fine European nights at Stamford Bridge, Ranieri will now return as an away manager - but he admits that he is not sure what to expect from the home crowd.[LNB]"I'm very curious to see how the fans respond to me this time when I come with Juventus," he added.[LNB]"Everywhere in the world when Chelsea fans are around they come up to me and say 'I miss you, you did a great job'. [LNB]"All the pressure, the pain, the stress and the disappointment of that season was worth it. [LNB]"For the love of the fans, the real love I saw in the eyes of the people when I was walking off the pitch at Stamford Bridge that afternoon."[LNB]
