«The responsibility is mine, it is I who have decided to play with this team. I did it with good intentions, to give the opportunity to play for people who work a lot and play little ». This is how José Mourinho commented on the terrible defeat in the Conference League of his Roma 6-1 against the Norwegians Bodø / Glimt, 151th in the Uefa ranking.
Artificial pitch, strong wind, rather cold temperatures and a stressful journey a few days of the super challenge with the former Spalletti’s Napoli. This is how Rome’s trip north of the Arctic Circle was described. The last time the Giallorossi team played in Norway was in 2005, 16 years ago, against Tromsoe and won the match 2-1 with goals from Kuffour and Cufrè. On the bench, ironically, there was just Luciano Spalletti.
Against Bodø / Glimt the values on the pitch, despite the array of reserves fielded by the Special One, were clear. The holders of the Norwegians arrive at a market value of 6.5 million, while yesterday’s yellow and red starting eleven was worth a good 111 million.
“At the initial line-up level, they had more quality than us,” said the Roma coach, who took his blame, but sent a clear message to the management and to those players he does not consider up to par. “If you could always play with the same players, I would do it,” added the coach. And the data prove him right. Mourinho used only twenty-two players, two more than Sampdoria and Udinese and therefore Roma are third from last in the league for players employed.
It is also the first time that, in his 1008 coaching benches, the Portuguese has conceded six goals. The same cannot be said for Roma who have already suffered such defeats in European competitions and beyond. The Giallorossi are in fact the first to concede six goals in all Uefa competitions. In the Champions League they were beaten 7-1 in Manchester by United and at the Olimpico they lost 1-7 to Bayern Munich. Roma also conceded 6 goals from Barcelona, again in the Champions League, and another six from United but in the Europa League where the match ended with a score of 6-2. In Italy, on the other hand, at the time of Di Francesco, Roma also conceded 7 goals from Fiorentina in the Italian Cup.
At the end of the match, the four hundred Roma fans who had followed the team to Norway refused the jersey of captain Pellegrini and remained to contest the team. Meanwhile, Mourinho has assured that he has already spoken to the Friedkins and asked for reinforcements. «I knew the limits of my players, it’s nothing new. The responsibility remains mine, but at least now you will no longer ask me why they always play the same ones », the Special One ironically commented.