Love him or loathe him, it is pretty hard to ignore him. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at the legacy of José Mourinho’s time in charge at Roma and why it made sense to part company with the Giallorossi coach.
In the end, Mourinho’s demise came quicker than a Leandro Paredes booking. His last act – perhaps fittingly – was to serve yet another touchline ban in the San Siro as he watched his team go down to defeat.
There is no doubt there will be a section of Giallorossi support which will be unhappy with the move. They saw the Portuguese coach as one of their own and had bought into his nobody likes us, we don’t care message. Unfortunately for them, they were not the ones with ultimate control of his fate.
It was not so long ago – a little more than a year-and-a-half – that they were dancing in the streets of Rome to celebrate the delivery of the Conference League crown. That cemented his place in legend at the Stadio Olimpico but it also masked continued shortcomings on the home front. The Serie A stats were brutal with his average points per game the lowest of any Roma coach with more than 50 games in charge in the last three decades. It ultimately proved too much for Dan Friedkin to stand.
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What was just as interesting, however, as the timing of Mourinho’s departure was the choice of his replacement. Seemingly conscious of a potential backlash from the home support, the capital club has gone for a senator who should placate even the most ire individual. Daniele De Rossi stands just behind the likes of Francesco Totti in the list of all-time greats.
It is something of a gamble, though, as his coaching career has not been star-studded to this point. Followers of Serie B will remember his pretty disastrous spell in charge of Ferrara’s finest SPAL which lasted just a few months. In truth, there were other issues at play in that debacle but, nonetheless, it does not look great on his coaching CV.
Still, for neutrals, it looked like the time was right to ditch the Special One some weeks or months ago. He has always been a high-impact manager – the European trophy showed that – but has rarely stayed anywhere for the long haul. For a club with a squad as costly as Roma’s, to be sitting in ninth spot in Serie A was unacceptable. De Rossi gets pretty much a free hit to try to turn that around.
It might, perhaps, also bring an end to the histrionics which had become a somewhat tiresome side-order every time the Giallorossi played. Aside from his own red cards, Mourinho’s team used to like nothing better than hounding a referee to the point where you imagine they would see Gianluca Mancini’s face in their sleep. The new coach was certainly combative as a player, but hopefully, his team will express itself a little more freely than under his predecessor.
Because the door is absolutely open to take the team back into Europe and, potentially, the Champions League. After Inter, Juventus and – at a slight distance – Milan, there is a big gap to the fourth spot Fiorentina currently occupy. It would hardly take a huge upturn in form to mount a challenge to the Viola and the other contenders for that final slot in the continent’s biggest competition.
Video: sad Mourinho leaves Roma training centre for the last time surrounded by fans
There will no doubt be some kind of tribute to Mourinho – as there should be – when Verona visit on Saturday. Two European finals in a row – one of them won – was quite an achievement but in the league bread and butter things were a lot less tasty. Two sixth-place finishes and a struggle to match it this campaign were hardly the stuff of Hall of Fame potential. And yet he does enjoy some residual love among some slices of the home support.
If anything, he has always known how to work a crowd and use the media to the best effect. Some of his touchline posturing and post-match comments have felt staged to ensure they play out the best they can with the fans. Eventually, though, that starts to wear pretty thin with most people.
Nonetheless, some will be sorry to see him go and that will put pressure on the man stepping into his coaching shoes. Luckily for De Rossi, his first few games do not look the most challenging but he will need to get off to a winning start in order to banish any nostalgia for Mourinho. The former Chelsea boss definitely casts a long shadow.
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His magic in delivering the Conference League should not be underestimated, and he deserves credit for a better approach from all Italian teams in Europe. Having seen the scenes winning any trophy produced in Rome, many other clubs saw that it was worth trying a little bit harder. As a coach, José understood that delivering silverware – no matter at what level – was something fans craved much more than a creditable league finish. An open-top bus parade is pretty rare for finishing second in Serie A.
Some in Rome will remain loyal to his cause but most, it seems likely, will move on quite quickly if results are decent. It is the nature of modern football that yesterday’s heroes are soon forgotten and nobody knows that better than Mourinho himself. Fans can be grateful for the trophy he won without having to feel too distressed at his departure. Rest assured, the coach will move on and be ready for battle wherever he next appears.
Twitter: @Ginkers
Thanks for the derbies Mou. A Roma solo la Lazio.
Pleeeeeease! Two European finals in a row ….umbrella stand cups !