Rome (AFP) - Roma sacked coach and club icon Daniele De Rossi on Wednesday after a poor start to the season which has left the Serie A team without a win and languishing near the relegation zone.

In a statement, Roma said that former Italy midfielder De Rossi “has been relieved of his duties” after just eight months in charge following the sacking in January of Jose Mourinho.

“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,” said Roma in a statement.

Roma said that “communication regarding the team’s technical guidance will follow” after firing De Rossi, who was filmed smiling with and signing autographs with fans as he left the club’s Trigoria training centre on Wednesday morning.

A World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, De Rossi was dismissed as his boyhood club, with whom he signed a contract until 2027 in June, sit 16th in Serie A with three points after four matches.

The sudden sacking comes after Roma drew 1-1 at Genoa on Sunday, throwing away what would have been a first win of the campaign in the final seconds of the match.

Italian media report that Ivan Juric, who most recently managed Torino, and Massimiliano Allegri are among the coaches in with a chance to take over from De Rossi.

De Rossi is an idol for Roma fans as a local boy done good who played in some of the club’s best teams of the last two decades, alongside fellow icon Francesco Totti.

- Local hero -

The 41-year-old, who grew up in a rough and ready beachside suburb of Rome, won over fans who saw in his passionate style of play one of their own on the pitch, despite a lack of silverware.

He won two Italian Cups and the 2007 Italian Super Cup, before finishing his career at Boca Juniors in early 2020 after less than a season in Argentina.

De Rossi had been a shock interim replacement for Mourinho as his only previous managerial experience had been four months at lower league outfit SPAL.

He was sacked in February last year in a season which finished with SPAL being relegated to the third-tier Serie C.

However he got off to a stunning start to life as Roma boss, revitalising what had become a moribund team under Mourinho and taking them to the semi-finals of the Europa League where they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

De Rossi had led Roma to two brilliant wins over Brighton and AC Milan in the previous two rounds and briefly looked like guiding them to qualification for the Champions League for the first time since 2019.

But Roma’s form tailed off at the end of the last campaign and they missed out on Europe’s top club competition despite Serie A having five places for direct qualification.

That, and just three draws and a defeat collected from their four opening league fixtures of the season against largely modest opposition, cost De Rossi his job less than three months after committing his future to Roma.

Roma host Udinese on Sunday before taking on Athletic Bilbao in their Europa League opener next week.