Return to Roma On 4 June 2012 it was confirmed that Zeman would be new head coach of his former club Roma, signing a two-year contract, effective from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014; his staff will be composed by assistant manager Vincenzo Cangelosi, technical collaborator Giacomo Modica and fitness coach Roberto Ferola. The agreement will mark Zeman's return at the Giallorossi after thirteen years. His appointment also led The Wall Street Journal to unusually dedicate him an article, labelling him the "Soccer's Jedi". His second stint as Roma head coach became controversial after he decided to sideline a number of key players such as Maarten Stekelenburg, Pablo Osvaldo and, most significantly, vice-captain and one-club player Daniele De Rossi. A successive decline in results then led to rumours involving the future of Zeman, with director of football Walter Sabatini explicitly confirming about a potential dismissal of the experienced Czech head coach at the end of January. On 2 February 2013, Zeman was relieved from his coaching post after a 2–4 home loss to Cagliari that left Roma in 8th position after 23 matches, and was replaced by the club's technique coach Aurelio Andreazzoli. After being sacked, player Miralem Pjanić commented that hiring Zeman had been a good decision, believing that the club's athletic all-attacking style of play the team's main strength, albeit also being one of its biggest weaknesses. Zeman initially stated that he was not bitter about being sacked by Roma and played down the rumours of his retirement, although he later said in an interview with Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that he was still critical towards the team over his sacking. 2014–15: Two spells with Cagliari In June 2014, Zeman returned into football management, being appointed new head coach of Serie A club Cagliari after a successful takeover led by entrepreneur Tommaso Giulini. On the fifth game of the season Zeman got a surprising but deserved victory of 1–4 playing away against Internazionale, briefly staving off rumors of dismissal after a mediocre start of season. However, he was sacked on 23 December 2014 following a poor run, which saw Cagliari achieve only two wins in their sixteen league fixtures, leaving them in eighteenth place in the relegation zone. On 9 March 2015, just a few months after originally being sacked, Cagliari reappointed Zeman as head coach, the club having sacked Gianfranco Zola. Zeman resigned