COMMENT: The Mourinho era is over at Roma. And it ended ahead of the terms of his contract (until June 30, 2024). The announcement came as a bolt out of the blue, but that he would not remain in the capital even after the summer was clear to everyone by then.
The dismissal surprised more by the timing and manner than by the situation that had arisen, negative by now both from the point of view of results and the mood in the locker room. For some time the wind had been changing, he was no longer the emperor everyone knew, in the last conferences he appeared disengaged, down in the dumps, almost resigned. And he was almost unrecognizable, because Mourinho has never been just a coach, he has always been something more, he has always been a real hero for the fans of the teams he coaches. The idol, the hero, the mountain in the shadow of which to shelter in times of trouble, the brave captain to whom to rely on for a long voyage on the open sea.
José Mourinho was, is and probably will forever be one of the faces of world soccer, which is also why his dismissal is always something of a shock. On May 4, 2021, he had been chosen, called and brought to Rome by president Dan Friedkin, the same man who in recent weeks developed the decision to put an "end" to his experience in the capital, despite his continuous declarations of love for the team, the fans, and the environment: "I want to stay," "I am also willing to accept a different project," even he had said he was willing to work with young players, because he had "never seen fans like those at Roma". Words he had never uttered, words when said by Mourinho have a whole other effect. Friedkin, however, was not pitied or won over by the Special One's words. On the contrary, after a difficult period in which Roma took 6 points out of 18 available in a series of clashes at the top of the standings came the decision to sack him.
How did we arrive at this decision, though? That is the real point of the question. Not whether or not it was right to fire Mourinho, because the team's performance had drastically declined and ninth place in the standings was not in the least acceptable, but what is causing discussion is the timing.
BUDAPEST BROKE JOSE - AND US
A section of Roma fans are not taking the decision to fire Mourinho in January well at all, because in their opinion the Portuguese has given so much to Roma that he at least deserved the chance to work through June, for better or worse. The truth, or at least that is the thinking of who's writing this piece, is that the roads had to break after the Budapest final, the cursed final lost to Sevilla because of a scandalous refereeing performance, that of Anthony Taylor, who in the months to follow confirmed that he is one of the worst referees in Europe. That night was to end Mourinho's adventure at Roma, with a victory, another trophy lifted to the sky, an incredible, legendary success that Mourinho and his Roma had deserved on the pitch, playing better, with heart, pride, dignity. Something broke that night, not only the hearts of Roma fans, but probably José's himself.
That night, a moment of maximum pain, amid the tears of a fan base that will probably always remain a little bit there, in Budapest, despite the fact that life is going on, Mourinho asked for a hand from the club, asked for a supporting managerial figure, asked for "more" from the Friedkin family. His demands, his cry of pain, brought no results. Nothing changed, and a few months later Mourinho's experience at Roma ended in dismissal. Jose probably hoped to leave Roma after winning the Europa League, but fate, at the hands of Taylor, did not grant him and Roma fans an ending worthy of the history that has been written every day since his arrival in the capital.
The truth is that it is impossible to judge Mourinho's experience at Roma by talking only about results. Or rather, the balance is definitely positive, about that there is no doubt, no one can call his experience a "failure," and the reasons for this are many.
First of all, Mourinho won the Conference League, Roma's first European trophy (apart from the Fairs Cup), he came close to reaching the EL trophy, he allowed the arrival of champions such as Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, he created in Rome an atmosphere not seen in a long time, of union of absolute enthusiasm between the city, the team and the fans, he made so many fans proud, he defended Roma against everything and everyone, even alone, even when his voice was the only one heard at the end of the dark alley, as on the night in Budapest, when he was the only Roma member to speak out about the wrong the team suffered on the pitch.
Roma fans were proud of Mourinho's Roma and of having the Portuguese on the bench, despite the fact that at times things were difficult, despite the fact that at times the results were not satisfactory, many Roma fans were happy and felt represented in a way they had not in a long time. And that in Rome is more important than anything else. The fact that they felt represented and defended, that they felt that Mourinho was speaking for their people, made Romanisti fall in love with the Portuguese coach, whose name will forever be linked to that of the Giallorossi team. Even if he had won nothing, and he did not because Mourinho won a trophy in Rome and would have deserved to win another, the journey would still have been unforgettable and forever cherished by Roma fans.
ONLY ROMA FANS UNDERSTAND WHAT MOURINHO MEANT TO US
Giallorossi fans did not start rooting for Roma because of the successes, because of the trophies, because of the titles, but because no other team has that same sense of community, conveys that sense of family. Feeling part of something, feeling represented, that feeling of being "unique" and being "chosen," that is what matters most to a Roma fan. And Mourinho was all of this and more: he had chosen Roma despite being bigger than her, he spoke on behalf of the fans and defended them against everything and everyone, he spoke words of love despite having coached in Madrid, Milan, London. In short, Mourinho was the man of providence, the hero who came down among ordinary men to help them and guide them to victory. And so he did. A beautiful, pure, intense love story, worthy of a book, a movie, in short, worthy of some artistic representation, because love you cannot explain: you either live it, or you show it.
No one will ever be able to understand what Mourinho has been for Roma except Roma fans. No fan of any other team will ever understand the empathy, the sharing of battles and values, perhaps not even Roma fans themselves, who at least had the luck and joy of sharing those emotions with other brothers and sisters. Mourinho wrote a beautiful page of history in Rome and this the fans will never forget.
To replace José, Dan Friedkin chose Daniele De Rossi. The man who embodied Romanism and cheering for Roma like no other in history. If in the world the name of the Giallorossi club is first and foremost associated with Francesco Totti, the former number 16 has been the beating heart of the team, the fan on the pitch, the only man capable of representing an entire fan base with gestures, performances and words that have not only never disappointed the love and expectations of other fans, but have even managed to give voice to intimate and inexplicable feelings.
DE ROSSI'S RETURN SOMETHING WE NEEDED
DDR is not just a symbol of Romanism, DDR IS Romanism. It was a risky choice from a technical point of view, because although DDR grew up as a player under some of the best coaches in the history of soccer, his only experience on the bench had been at SPAL, which started badly and ended worse, something the new Giallorossi coach did not fail to emphasize in his press conference, stressing that he was "not stupid."
Daniele signed a contract almost at the minimum wage, he told the ownership, "You choose the salary, I don't care, I'll sign anyway", An act of love, yet another from De Rossi, who as a player said, "My only regret is that I could only donate one career to Roma", and now here is the chance to give his great love another career, that of coaching. Some have called the decision to entrust him with the team as clever but he does not care about that; he has already said he will fight to the death to stay on that bench well beyond the 4 months stipulated in the current agreement. "You can't refuse Roma" DDR explained, and after the conference he went straight onto the field to try to solve the team's problems.
His first game produced three points and also a good team performance, with a new style of play, a hopeful sign, but there is still a long way to go. Daniele is back home and the feeling is that he never really left, because Roma is his home. The fans have greeted him with love, but they have not spared a fierce protest to the Friedkin family, to whom a part of the fans just do not forgive the decision to have fired Mourinho, the hero of a people, the face and voice of the team and its fans, often left alone to speak for all.
What is certain, is that the Friedkin family showed courage and also to be present and attentive: firing Mourinho, knowing moreover how beloved he was, is not an easy choice, indeed, it is a courageous one. The team was not doing well, results were lacking, and something had to change, so Dan Friedkin took matters into his own hands and called in Daniele De Rossi, a son of Rome, to replace Jose Mourinho. The era of the Special One is over, the era of a legendary captain, back home in a new capacity, has just begun. Now he has a chance to prove his worth as a coach, in his own city, where as a player he became one of the world's greatest footballers.
Mourinho first, De Rossi later: in Rome people will continue to speak about love. As always.
