Tuesday marked the end of Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Roma, as the Serie A team fired the “Special One” in the midst of what has been an incredibly disappointing third season in the Italian city.
After an emotional two and a half years during which he won the Europa Conference League in 2022, ending the capital club’s 14-year trophy drought, Mourinho is leaving Roma.
After a string of disappointing performances left the squad well below the pace in the Italian top division, Roma announced that Mourinho and his staff would be departing “with immediate effect,” adding that it was “in the best interests of the club.”
According to Italian media, Daniele De Rossi, a 2006 World Cup champion with Italy, is the front-runner to succeed José Mourinho as coach. De Rossi is a former captain of Roma.
Mourinho has said time and again that he wanted to continue on, but negotiations to extend his contract never happened. His contract was set to expire in June.
After Roma’s humiliating 3-1 loss to AC Milan on Sunday, which dropped them to ninth place in Serie A and five points out of the Champions League spots, rumors of his resignation became increasingly widespread.
“We would like to thank Jose on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club,” said owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin in a statement.
“We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.
“We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in their future endeavours.”
The 60-year-old Portuguese was a shock appointment in 2021, Roma’s announcement of his arrival as the replacement to Paulo Fonseca coming almost completely out of the blue.
Grazie da parte di tutti noi all’AS Roma, José! #ASRoma pic.twitter.com/3uwjHlEU1f
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) January 16, 2024
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His image started to appear on walls all throughout Rome, and he quickly became a massive fan favorite as supporters fantasized about success under one of the greatest football coaches in history.
Additionally, he led Roma to the inaugural Conference League in his first season, a victory that moved Mourinho to tears on the field and elevated him to a near-divine status among some of Europe’s most ardent and success-starved fan groups.
Then, in the Europa League against Sevilla the previous season, he nearly won back-to-back European championships in a penalty shootout for Roma.
That was a loss that infuriated Mourinho and his fans, who at the Ferenc Liszt airport in Budapest attacked referee Anthony Taylor with chairs because they thought Taylor had made poor decisions that had cost their club the trophy.
But this season, the charm that had existed between Mourinho and the supporters started to fade, in part because of a slew of injuries and unsuccessful summer transfers.
Under Mourinho’s leadership, Roma has not made it into the lucrative Champions League, which is a major setback for a team that is struggling to balance its budget and is subject to Financial Fair Play regulations.
Alongside fellow legend Francesco Totti, De Rossi is revered by Roma supporters as a local boy turned hero who was a part of some of the team’s greatest squads during the previous 20 years.
The 40-year-old’s sole coaching experience was with SPAL for four months last season, during which the team was demoted to the third division of Serie C. As a result, he has limited coaching experience.