P: 7th (W18 D8 L12 GF68 GA58 Pts62)
Coppa Italia: Round of 16 Team rating: 7/10 Top scorer: Borja Mayoral [17] Europe: Europa League semi-final
The 2020-21 season will go down as a missed opportunity for Roma and the owners have pressed the reset button for 2021-22 by appointing Jose Mourinho, writes Owen Diana…
La Lupa’s lost season
A chaotic campaign has left plenty of talking points, but the focus is firmly on the future for La Lupa. Jose Mourinho’s surprise appointment on May 4 made international headlines and energized a fervent fan-base desperate for progress under the capital club’s new owners.
Another Portuguese tactician was already in charge when the Friedkins finalised their acquisition back in August, and the decision was made to stick with Paulo Fonseca. The former Shakhtar Donetsk strategist subsequently guided the Giallorossi to a hot start in Serie A, with their only loss through the first eight rounds the result of an administrative error.
Despite that bright beginning, a 4-0 shellacking at the San Paolo on November 29 reaffirmed Roma’s inability to trouble the top teams. A beat-down in Bergamo less than a month later continued the worrying trend, but the club were still sitting pretty in third place by the time Christmas came around. Their Champions League candidacy was further boosted at the outset of 2021, with back-to-back wins over Sampdoria and Crotone followed by a spirited stalemate with eventual champions Inter. Yet, that positive sequence was merely the calm before a mighty mid-season storm.
Within days of the draw with Antonio Conte’s charges, a full-blown crisis had ensued in the red half of Rome. A 3-0 capitulation in the Derby della Capitale was bad enough, but a shock Coppa Italia elimination just days later at the hands of Spezia, which included yet another administrative blunder, set alarm bells well and truly ringing.
The manner of those two losses had Fonseca fearing for his job, but the Friedkins once again opted to back the coach despite rumoured interest in the likes of Massimiliano Allegri and Maurizio Sarri. A sinking ship was stabilized by three wins from the next four games, but the feeling remained that a coaching change would be coming in the summer.
A top four finish or a first European trophy in 60 years had the potential to change that plan, but it soon became clear that an injury-hit squad could not juggle domestic and continental commitments. Results in Serie A suffered as Roma marched on in the Europa League, with a stretch of one win from eight domestic duels between mid-March and early May showing where priorities lay.
That subpar sequence left Roma straining to secure seventh spot, while their European ambitions were crushed after 45 painful minutes in Manchester. A first triumph over Lazio since September 2018 was a perfect parting gift from Fonseca, but Roma seem further away from a return to Serie A’s top table then they were when Fonseca took over. Mourinho has his work cut out for him in the Eternal City.
The Coach – Paulo Fonseca
In his second season at the helm, Fonseca failed to fix the recurrent defensive issues and struggles against Serie A’s top sides that had doomed his first campaign. There were plenty of pretty attacking patterns under the Portuguese, but functionality ultimately trumped flair for the Friedkins, who decided to part ways with the 48-year-old.
Player of the Year – Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The influence of the Armenian ace waned as winter turned to spring, but he was the key figure in Roma’s sterling start to the season. Mkhi became the first Roma player to collect more than 10 goals and 10 assists since Mohamed Salah did so in 2016-17, and, reunited with former boss Mourinho, he needs more support from his teammates.
Defining Moment – Old Trafford thrashing
The omens were not good for the Giallorossi as they travelled to the Theatre of Dreams for a second European semi-final in four years. A wretched run in Serie A had put paid to the possibility of a top four spot, while a return to the site of an infamous 7-1 hammering in 2007 brought up painful memories. A positive result would have simultaneously revived Champions League hopes and banished the demons of that heavy defeat, and both seemed on the cards as La Lupa went into half-time with a surprise 2-1 lead. They fell apart in the second stanza, however, with Edinson Cavani and company combining for five goals that rubber-stamped the hosts’ ticket to Gdansk.
Did you know?
Jose Mourinho has managed against Roma on seven occasions – and lost only once, winning four and drawing two. They were all with Inter and include the 2009-10 Coppa Italia final, which the Nerazzurri won 1-0. The lone Roma win came in March 2010, when Daniele De Rossi and Luca Toni scored either side of a goal from Diego Milito.
Read the full 2020-21 Serie A season review here.