Claudio Ranieri has returned the compliments paid to him by Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri ahead of Fulham s trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Sarri spoke of his deep respect for his Italian compatriot before the pair s meeting in a west London derby that pits the Premier League s fourth-placed side against the team propping up the table.
A 3-2 win over Southampton gave Ranieri a fine start to his Craven Cottage tenure and the 67-year-old is relishing a reunion with both his former club and an old friend.
Sarri is really smart, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. I followed him for a few days in Cobham [Chelsea s training ground]. There is great study behind him, good insights, a huge passion.
When we met, he reminded me of an episode from the days in Florence, more than 20 years ago. They invited me to a technical meeting and Sarri wanted to meet me. He asked me to be able to follow some training of Fiorentina. I replied that there was no problem, but that he would have to visit some Serie C colleagues because our coaches are very good even in the lower series.
All business.
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC)
Fulham have endured a steep learning curve since winning promotion from the Championship and the dramatic victory over the Saints was only their second top-flight victory of the campaign.
However, Ranieri remains confident he can stave off relegation from a division he won with Leicester City in 2016, having now returned to the Premier League after a spell with Nantes.
I wanted to come back, but it was right to get away for some time with another experience, he said. Nantes was a nice opportunity. Now I m here and I ll give it my all to save Fulham.
The path will be hard and difficult, but I m sure we will succeed. The team has a good base. We just have to correct something.
[Specifically] The defensive phase and the general approach. With the players I was clear: I want people running and fighting.
