A year ago today, Roma officially unveiled Jose Mourinho as their new head coach. 12 months later, the team are preparing for a European semi-final.
The Portuguese coach clearly needed something different following the rough end to his time with Tottenham, and a new challenge in Italy appealed, especially when remembering his incredible treble winning campaign with Inter. The Giallorossi signed Mourinho to a three-year deal, hoping to see the foundations of a strong project.
A year later, it seems as if Mourinho is upholding his end of the bargain; the Giallorossi are currently fighting intercity rivals Lazio for 5th and they’re preparing for the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-finals against Leicester City.
With the first leg ending 1-1, Mourinho’s Roma have a serious shot of reaching a European cup final, an achievement considering the initial growing pains.
A few early results showed some initial struggles for the Portuguese coach in the Italian capital, with the most famous being the 6-1 embarrassment against Bodo/Glimt. Other results, like a 3-2 loss to Hellas Verona or a 1-0 loss to Bologna, made things look a little uncertain, but Mourinho has done well to right the ship in 2022.
Considering the growth of Roma in the space of one year under Mourinho, it’s impossible to tell just how far the former Chelsea coach can push this project over the next few years.
I can’t believe people still want to talk about the 6-1 to Bodo. Wasn’t that a heavily rotated squad, where Mou literally was trying to send a message to the board?
I believed in their chance to make the Conference League final, and now they are there!
Hoping Mourinho, will stay in Italy a long time and shake things up
When you are tired, not thinking your opponent as an important match, and keep focusing on serie-A, you will get result like 6-1 against bodo. Its not because bodo are great. It happened when roma faced fiorentina too, they lost big number. But you already see Roma with determination, Roma almost trash bodo 7-0 in Olimpico.