Roma did extraordinarily well to win the Conference League in Jose Mourinho’s debut season and frankly even better to reach the Final of the Europa League with a squad that was stretched so thin as to reach breaking point in more than one occasion. They pushed specialists Sevilla all the way to a penalty shoot-out and there is absolutely no shame in that. Should Jose Mourinho have regrets after the defeat in Budapest?
There have to be mixed feelings following this loss in the Giallorossi camp. Paulo Dybala was available a month after the ankle sprain for his first start and indeed scored the goal, but could only hang on for 67 minutes. They knew when they signed La Joya as a free agent that this transfer would bring both moments of great quality and a history of injury problems, so none of that is surprising.
Mourinho had won all five of his previous UEFA Finals in various competitions for several clubs by playing a defensive style of football that ground opponents down and frustrated them, so with a far weaker squad than Sevilla, he could hardly be blamed for sticking with what had always worked in the past. Having said that, should Stephan El Shaarawy have been introduced earlier than 15 minutes from the end of extra time? Spanish legs were flagging, his quality and attacking verve was needed in this situation, especially if his recent form was anything to go by. That does feel like a missed opportunity.
Last season’s Conference League victory was the first ever UEFA trophy to make it into the Roma cabinet, so it’s safe to say they don’t have a European pedigree, especially compared to serial winners of the UEFA Cup/Europa League like Sevilla. At the same time, the Spaniards dropped down from the Champions League along with other semi-finalists Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen, which hardly seems fair on the teams who started this tournament back in September. This competition has become the golden parachute of clubs who stumble in the group phase.
It felt almost as if Roma were playing for penalties as the game wore on and that’s a strange approach to take when they’ve missed several spot-kicks all season and were up against a goalkeeper who was the hero for Morocco in the 2022 World Cup shoot-outs. This just compounds the penalty curse around the Giallorossi after the 1984 European Cup against Liverpool, which to add insult to injury was played in Rome.
The focus now turns to the future and Roma have not qualified for the Champions League. Mourinho said in his press conference that was “paradoxically good news” because the team is simply not structured to compete at that level. The coach keeps treading this strange tightrope, continually complaining that the squad is weak, but also reassuring it is not the fault of the Friedkins, because Financial Fair Play rules make it practically impossible to invest more. So what does he want from Roma? It will take time to increase revenue to the degree that it can allow for a stronger transfer campaign.
Mourinho protested that he is tired of being the face of the club at all times, the “communications chief, the face that says we were robbed.” Director Tiago Pinto is too mild-mannered to take on such a task, but I get the feeling the Friedkins don’t appreciate that sort of attitude from their coach either. They seem to find it rather tacky to complain so openly about referees, whereas Mou knows Italian football well enough to embrace the ‘us vs. the world’ mentality that fits both him and Roma like a glove. It’s no coincidence the only two Serie A clubs the Portuguese boss worked at are also the most obsessed with conspiracy theories and supposed slights against them over the decades. Massimo Moratti loved to get in there and accuse referees of bias, but the Friedkin family are American, they find it rather unpleasant and unprofessional. They are eternally silent in the stands and might find Mou’s brand of sniping media presence to be something they don’t really want to be associated with.
Yet I believe Mou when he says that being at Roma has changed him, that he now cares more about seeing the passion of the fans than winning as an individual. There is one more year on his contract, this could work, but they all have to be on the same page about what they can realistically achieve and how to go about it. As things stand, that does not appear to be the case.
Twitter: @SusyCampanale