ROME — Where Jose Mourinho goes, drama follows. But even by the Special One’s standards, his first season at Roma has been eventful, a journey of thrilling highs and humiliating lows, with a healthy share of controversy thrown in.
The Portuguese’s return to Italy last summer, for the first time since winning an unprecedented treble with Inter Milan in 2010, was greeted by delirium and rocketing expectations from one of Italy’s most demanding fanbases.
Thousands of flag-waving supporters flocked to Roma’s training ground to greet their new boss, a mural of Mou riding a Vespa appeared overnight in the city, and the appointment was the subject of an entire book that was published by the time the Giallorossi were two games into the season.
Mourinho got off to a rocky start, repeatedly complaining about referees, transfers and squad depth amid poor results, but Roma have turned things around since the turn of the year and head into their Conference League clash with Leicester on a wave of revived Mou-mania.
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More than 100,000 fans queued online for tickets for the return leg in Rome, as anticipation grows at the prospect of the manager completing his first major objective in the Eternal City: ending Roma’s 14-year long wait for a trophy.
Not long ago, that didn’t look a particularly likely prospect.
In September, Mourinho became the first Roma coach in a decade to lose his first Rome derby in charge and shock defeats to Venezia and Bologna followed, before a 3-0 defeat to Inter in December left them down in eighth place.
October’s humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in October was true rock bottom, though. The result ranked among the worst in the club’s history, and marked the first time in Mourinho’s 1008-game long career that one of his teams shipped six goals.
The Portuguese blamed Roma’s squad depth, saying “we have a very good team, not a very good squad” and that he only had “13 players” worthy of a place. Those comments didn’t win much sympathy, given Roma splashed out more than £100m on new players including Tammy Abraham and Rui Patricio last summer, more than any other club in Italy.
Gripes with referees have been a repeated theme, with Mourinho blaming officiating for the Rome Derby defeat, getting sent off against Napoli and earning a two-match ban for insulting a ref in February. However, Mourinho eventually found a system that worked for his team, switching to a back three in November and encouraging quick transitions that have led to some beautiful goals.
He has also adapted by promoting youngsters like Felix Afena-Gyan and Nicola Zalewski from the youth team and re-inventing winger Nicolo Zaniolo as a second striker.
Roma’s 3-1 defeat to Inter on Saturday was their first Serie A loss since 9 January, ending a 12-game unbeaten streak in which they defeated Atalanta and got derby revenge over Lazio 3-0.
Although they remain fifth and eight points adrift of the Champions League spots, Mourinho’s side are now three points better off than they were at this stage last season under Paulo Fonseca.
Abraham – who joined Roma after Mourinho called him to ask: “do you want to enjoy some sun or stay in the rain?” – has been a revelation.
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“He knows when my mind is in the game and when I’m a little bit asleep. He really knows how to drive the team,” Abraham said.
Mourinho has worked hard to instil a winning mentality; Stephan El Shaarawy’s equaliser against Napoli marked a seventh stoppage-time goal of the season.
“He drilled into everyone the art of never giving up,” said Zaniolo.
There’s little doubt that the Roma faithful were hoping for more than a battle for fifth when Mourinho first arrived, but the prospect of winning the club’s first-ever Uefa trophy has electrified the fanbase in a manner not seen for years.
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