The decision to hire Juric in the first place only served to highlight the lack of a clear sporting strategy.
When the Friedkins arrived, their decision to bring in José Mourinho as coach earned them plaudits. A proven winner and a man capable of capturing global interest, Mourinho would satisfy both commercial and sporting needs.
The Olympic Stadium was sold out for 43 consecutive matches and the fans fell in love with the Portuguese, who took them to consecutive European finals.
However, Roma failed to prepare for what would come after Mourinho. When he was sacked, fans were furious and the decision to hand the reins to Daniele de Rossi seemed like a way to placate fans rather than serve a long-term vision.
The former team captain knows the club and the culture, but has a different playing style and little experience. The decision to extend his contract before the summer attracted attention.
By investing more than €100m (£83m) in summer transfers, the Friedkins sought to support De Rossi’s tactical vision and the team’s requirements.
Sacking him just four weeks into the season remains a hasty and baffling decision, but entrusting the team of players to Juric, a man with a completely different playing philosophy, emphasized the lack of planning.
As expected, Juric failed. Not only did he fail to convey his ideas, but the players were visibly sad, dissatisfied or ignored.
Think in particular of German centre-back Mats Hummels, who joined Roma on a free transfer in the summer.
He had spoken of growing up watching Francesco Totti and De Rossi and his enthusiasm for training with the latter, only to watch from the sidelines as Juric constantly overlooked him, choosing to play as a defensive midfielder instead of the La Liga finalist. Champions.
“We believe strongly in stability and culture,” Dan Friedkin said in his first official interview four years ago.
“This is important in our existing businesses and is vitally important in football. We try to identify and, more importantly, support strong management.”
The problem in Roma is that nobody understands who makes the decisions.
The club remains without a general manager after Lina Souloukou resigned from her position, while Frenchman Ghisolfi, the man who stepped forward to absorb the fans’ anger and acknowledge mistakes, appears to have no power to make decisions, leaving the Italian media debating how long he will last in his role.
It doesn’t help that he only speaks French in a club obsessed with its history and traditions.
