29 September 2023 , 09:51
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Jose Mourinho has defended his record of Roma winning just two of their last 14 Serie A matches by highlighting that he is the first manager to lead the club to successive European finals.
Mourinho masterminded the Italian club’s first European trophy in over 60 years as they won the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 – his first campaign in Rome. The Giallorossi were then edged out by Sevilla in a penalty shootout in the Europa League final last season.
Yet domestically, Roma have fallen short under the Portuguese boss. Despite having one of the biggest wage bills in Italian football and being expected to compete in the Champions League, they have finished outside the top five in each of his two full seasons in charge and this season has started worryingly.
Despite winning 7-0 at home to struggling Empoli, Roma have struggled this term with a meagre five points from their opening six league games. Thursday’s heavy 4-1 defeat at newly-promoted Genoa followed early-season defeats against Verona and Milan, while being held by Salernitana and Torino.
“It’s the worst start to the season in my career,” Mourinho admitted after Thursday’s defeat in Genoa, before adding: “But it’s also the first time in Roma’s history that we made two consecutive European finals.”
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Mourinho also used this approach at Manchester United, highlighting that he won the EFL Cup and Europa League in his first season in charge before 18 months of no further trophies. It was in Mourinho’s third season at Old Trafford – the same stage where he is now at with Roma – that the situation fell apart, with the Portuguese boss dismissed in December that term.
“We are a team with qualities and defects,” Mourinho continued in his post-match analysis on Thursday. “There is no time to cry, only internally because of my relationship with the supporters. It hurts me even more, it’s not just a personal thing but a general one. Tomorrow we will go back to work. The next match is worth three points, not six, seven or eight, but it becomes very very important for us to succeed.”
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Roma players were left dejected by their heavy loss in Genoa (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)Mourinho has been adored by Roma’s loyal fanbase since his arrival in the Italian capital two years ago but the first cracks in the relationship are starting to appear. The visiting fans chanted at their team and management last season that they ‘want respect’ and they have ‘had enough’ of the situation.
Mourinho added of his squad: “It is the squad we have and with this squad we must emerge from this situation. There is no more transfer window, nobody can leave or arrive, this is the group we have with its qualities and its problems.”
Roma may not yet be in a crisis but their early season form is clearly a cause for concern and follows a limp finish to last season. Their European exploits have been notable but unless Mourinho can arrest the side’s concerning league form, there is likely to be more fan discontent.