Roma fans fear Jose Mourinho will walk away after more European glory
The man once dubbed the ‘f**king master of the press room’ by an irate Pep Guardiola is in fine form at Roma’s Fulvio Bernardini Training Center ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League final.
Jose Mourinho waits patiently as a journalist asks a lengthy question about his relationship with referees in Italy.
“Nice speech but I prefer not to answer,” says the Roma coach when the reporter is finally done. “Don’t waste your time with that shit,” he then says to the well-meaning interpreter sitting next to him as he begins to translate the question into English.
It is the only question that has managed to irritate Mourinho. The rest focus on the fact that he is about to play his sixth European final; that he won all five of the previous ones; that the Roma fans adore him; and that they fear he will leave after meeting Seville in Budapest.
There are real shadows of 2004 for Mourinho at the moment – a second European final in two seasons and the expectation that he will use it as a stage to bow to.
Roma fans are concerned Jose Mourinho will leave the club even as he leads them to greater European success
Mourinho and Roma won the Europa Conference League last season and want to take it one step further this year by playing Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
If AS Roma return to the Champions League, they will need investments that will not be made
Porto won the Uefa Cup and the Champions League in 2003 and 2004 and Mourinho’s medal had barely hung on his neck when he left for Chelsea.
Last season he led Roma to their first trophy in 14 years. The Circo Massimo – an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium next to the Colosseum that hosts concerts and victory parades – is gearing up for a new celebration. Will it be Mourinho’s departure?
It was not only in Porto that he said goodbye after winning a trophy. When he won the Champions League in Madrid with Inter in 2010, he stayed in the Spanish capital and signed for Real rather than return to Milan with his victorious players.
There is no pre-arranged destination this time. He was excited about a return to one of his former clubs Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Chelsea now have a man for next season, but the Brazilian Football Federation has not given up on Carlo Ancelotti, despite his contract running out for another year.
Paris Saint-Germain are also considering Mourinho for the sacking of Christophe Galtier this week, although he is not the only candidate.
The motivation to move on is his frustration at not being given the money to compete.
If AS Roma returns to the Champions League next season, the side will need major investments and there is no expectation that they will come.
Roma fans adore Mourinho, as evidenced by murals around the city, which depict him as emperor with his Europa Conference League trophy last year
Another mural on a wall in Rome of Mourinho driving a vespa
Asked earlier this season how he can lead Roma to a return to the top of Europe after a five-year absence, he said: “Reaching the Champions League with only €7m spent on the transfer market is not writing history That’s not even a miracle, it’s Jesus Christ coming to Rome and taking a walk through the Vatican.’
Mourinho is no stranger to referring to the messiah while in Italy. In 2009, he appeared at Inter on ‘Chiambretti Night’, a late night chat show and was asked about a perceived unpopularity.
“Not everyone loved Jesus,” he said, “and even fewer people like me.”
He has been Roma’s football savior since he agreed to sign. The date on which his arrival was announced, May 4, 2021, would be a public holiday in the Italian capital if it were up to Roma fans.
There were murals dedicated to his arrival before a ball was kicked and they have only multiplied over time. He has been depicted as Saint Jose holding the European Conference League, as Emperor Jose also with the newly won trophy, or simply as regular Jose on a Vespa motorcycle with a Roma scarf around his neck.
They wanted to be relevant again and his fierce competitive spirit made them so.
They don’t care about the style of football – they just want to win. No one minded that in the semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen, Roma only had 29 percent possession and no shots on target for the opposing team’s six.
Another professional display is expected in Wednesday’s final. There is a contradiction to Mourinho’s yearning for more money, as he has often excelled with modest means.
He left Porto for Chelsea after leading the Portuguese side to the Champions League in 2004
He also left Inter Milan for Real Madrid after winning the Champions League in 2010
Mourinho would like to return to Real Madrid and has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain
He won the Champions League at Inter with journeyman striker Diego Milito, but never succeeded with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
The tireless talisman up front this time is former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham. The England man’s goal tally has shrunk from 27 to nine in his second season, but the sacrifice is still there and Mourinho wants him to lead the final.
“I always call him my uncle from Rome,” Abraham says of Mourinho. “He knows how to drive me, how to get under my skin. Even if I play the best football of my career, he will tell me I have to do more.’
The side stands behind Mourinho in a way that may not have happened since those heady days of Inter, Chelsea and Porto.
It has now been two decades since that first European trophy, won with the Portuguese club.
“I’m a better coach and a better person,” he told Mail Sport when asked how Mourinho now compares to the 2003 manager.
“The DNA is the same: motivation, happiness, desire for these big moments. And that’s what I’m trying to convey to the players. Trainers keep getting better. As a player, your body doesn’t react the same at 30 as it did at 40.
“But as a coach your brain gets sharper and with the accumulation of knowledge you get better with age. You don’t stop until you lose motivation. And that didn’t happen to me.’