Daniele De Rossi has instantly hit the ground running since replacing Jose Mourinho at Roma, but his first real test comes against Inter this weekend.
The Giallorossi decided to sack the Special One last month following a 3-1 loss to Milan, ending his 30-month spell in the dugout in the Italian capital.
Mourinho’s first two years in charge had featured incredible highs like their Conference League victory or Europa League final, but things were far more difficult in his third season, and it soon became clear that the project was starting to unravel.
Roma’s decision to appoint De Rossi to replace the Portuguese coach was a fairly low-risk move; the 40-year-old Italian is already a fan-favourite and has deep ties with the club, making things like contract negotiations incredibly easy.
Signing a six-month contract, it was clear that the club’s owners didn’t believe De Rossi to be the right long-term replacement for Mourinho, giving them the option to cast a wider net at the end of the season.
Upon his arrival, the former midfielder immediately switched up the Special One’s system, moving away from a 3-5-2 system into a more flexible four-man defence. In his three matches in charge, the players have lined up in three different formations: 4-3-2-1, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.
De Rossi’s first match in charge of Roma was at home against relegation candidates Hellas Verona, a match that did pose some dangers. The team made no mistake, edging out a 2-1 win after early goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
The second test was an away trip to Salernitana, who sit rock bottom of the league table. Things went similarly for De Rossi and Roma, a 2-1 win after taking a strong lead through Paulo Dybala and Pellegrini.
On Monday, De Rossi completed his hattrick at Roma, guiding them to a thrilling 4-0 win over 18th place Cagliari, securing all three points after goals from Dybala, Pellegrini and Dean Huijsen, further enamouring himself to the Giallorossi faithful.
Whilst there can be no downplaying of the former midfielder’s work so far, it’s also fairly likely that Mourinho would’ve secured victories against these opponents, with the majority of his defeats coming to teams ranked above Roma in the league table.
Now, De Rossi has a real opportunity to match his work with Mourinho’s. Roma will host league leaders Inter on Saturday evening at 17.00 UK time, a match that looks like an insurmountable task following the recent flying form of Simone Inzaghi’s squad.
Mourinho never managed to find the right answers to Inzaghi and the Nerazzurri during his 30 months in charge, suffering defeat in five of their six meetings. The Giallorossi’s only win in this period came in October 2022.
If De Rossi manages to guide Roma to victory over Inter on Saturday evening, then it means there’s every chance that he’ll go on to carve out his future in the club’s dugout, clearly being capable of matching up against the best. Even a close draw could hint at this.
Defeat, on the other hand, would suggest that not all the blame for the Giallorossi’s issues can be laid at Mourinho’s door.
Words: @ApolloHeyes
The ‘rossoneri’ are ac milan
The Giallorossi are AS ROMA
FYI