The cold-hearted Californian shocked the planet Romanistfiring in person Jose Mourinho and assuming, in its place, a totem of Giallorossi history like Daniele De Rossi (only the official information is missing). It will be said: only possible choice on an emotional/popular level. Very likely, but if it is also correct on a technical level, with the current ninth place in the standings and the aim of grabbing fourth position at all costs, currently five points away, the experts will certify it. results. From a guru of world football to a rookie, apart from the four months spent by De Rossi at the helm of the Spal in Serie B from October 2022 to February 2023: a turnaround with a capital letter. The near future could be Antonio Contebut now we have to deal with the present.
This turning point, which had an immediate echo in the media internationalstarting from the website of BBC who already risks a return of Mourinho to the Premier to take over Newcastle from Eddie Howeis the only child of And Friedkin. The farewell statement, not too sappy, has the club’s signature. In the common parlance we speak of the “Friedkin” decision. There truth is that it was the big boss, with a soul tested by the business jungle, who took the situation head on after the double knockout with Lazio and Milan. Friedkin’s father took the plane, landed in Italia and challenged “Romanism”. Mou was his supreme guide. Only Dan Friedkin could kick him out. The Californian he objectively made the only possible decision, in a club with the market conditioned by the stakes of Financial Fair Play and a sporting director leaving on February 1st: the impossible alternative was to kick out half the team. Dan Friedkin dismissed the coach who had won the Conference League and had lost, in a stormy match, the last act of Europa League. In the USA we don’t live by memories, but we always look to the future and, above all, to the budgets. Roma had never reached two finals in a row in Europe, but Roma itself has been out of the league since 2019 Champions. And the Champions League, with its money, is the only thing that matters in the soccer modernespecially for those who have spent nine hundred million euros to put their accounts in order, which were disastrous from the management of James Pallotta.
Surely Dan Friedkin’s move has the sense of the last hand, desperate, of the poker player. The boss challenged the people of sold out at the Olimpico, the umbrella guaranteed by the presence of a character like Mourinhothe – legitimate – doubts about the capabilities of From Rossi to give a turn to the Giallorossi season. In the space of a few hours, Roma moved on from the manager with 26 titles on the board to an absolute rookie, zero appearances on the bench in Serie A. A decision which, while waiting to see if De Rossi will really become a great coach as many predict, has the sense of a measure dictated by the emergency and, at the same time, by the attempt to calm the popular wave. From the Mou people leader to old flaglowered in 2019 when De Rossi left Trigoria and returned to fly 5 years later, on yet another day of torment for the Giallorossi.
Whatever happens, Mourinho’s story in Rome has gone beyond the scope of football and is the material of sociology. Two and a half years of boundless passion. Mou has restored pride and a sense of belonging to a disoriented people after a decade full of illusions and, above all, disappointments. The turning point was Budapest, yet another cursed evening of the Romanist epic. A different outcome in the final of Europa League it would have consecrated Mourinho’s genius and allowed Roma to return to the Champions League. Mou’s downfall began on May 31, 2023, amidst referee errors Taylor and those of the players at the time of penalties. Budapest the zenith. Then, all the way back. Mourinho is sacked once again in his third year: as in Chelsea (2015) and as per Manchester United (2018). He closed with a success rate of 49% and a questionable technical balance: 138 games, 68 successes, 30 draws, 40 defeats. In practice, one knockout every four matches. With a by post: 4 derbies lost out of 6. La his Rome he never played good football, but he gave days of extraordinary emotion: the final of Conferencethe double challenges in Europa League against Real Sociedad, Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen. Mou filled the Olimpico. Above all, he filled the hearts of a people. Today it is already history, like the faded mural of Mourinho on a Vespa in the heart of Testaccio.