The Rome announced this Wednesday that the Portuguese José Mourinho will not continue to be the coach of the ‘giallorosso’ club with immediate effect.
“Roma announces that José Mourinho and his technical collaborators will leave the club with immediate effect,” the club announced in an official note.
Mourinho arrived in Rome in May 2021 and leaves the club after three consecutive Serie A games without winning and a painful cup elimination against Lazio.
Los owners of the club, the American Friedkin familythanked the Setubal native for his work during these almost three years, although they clarified that they believed the change was necessary.
“We thank José on behalf of all of us for the passion and commitment he has shown since his arrival at the Giallorossi,” Dan and Ryan Friedkin said in the official statement.
“We will always have great memories of his management, but we believe that, for the good of the club, an immediate change is necessary. We wish José and his collaborators the best for the future,” they added.
The decision, unexpected in Rome, comes just a month after Mourinho expressed his desire to continue next season in the Roman team, with which He had a contract until June 2024.
“I want to continue at Roma. And if I continue at Roma we have to think with our financial ‘Fair-play’ limitations, that it is better to make young people play to develop them than to bring in players with nothing to develop anymore,” He declared to DAZN after the defeat against Bologna (2-0) on December 17.
“The fans are unique and for me a separation would be hard. If it has to happen it will not be on my part,” he added.
The defeat against Milan at San Siro was too much in a week in which The main rival, Lazio, also left him out of the Italian Cup.
Roma, far from its best level – although diminished by injuries – is ninth in Serie A, five points away from the European positions and from the fight to enter the Champions League, the main objective of this project.
Mourinho says goodbye to what has been his home for the last two and a half seasons with a Europa League final, lost against Sevillaand the unforgettable achievement of the 2022 Conference League in Albania that brought joy back to a fan that had not won a title since 2008 and that reached a final after 31 years.
DANIELE DE ROSSI, NEW COACH
Mourinho’s replacement at the head of the bench will be Daniele De Rossi, a legendary former player of the team. Thus, after 18 years as a ‘Giallorossi’ footballer, De Rossi takes charge of the Roma bench, making his debut in this Saturday’s Serie A match against Hellas Verona at the Olympic Stadium in the transalpine capital.
“We are happy to be able to hand over the technical responsibility of AS Roma to Daniele De Rossi, as We believe that the leadership and ambition that have always characterized him can be decisive in pursuing the team’s goals to the end,” said Dan and Ryan Friedkin, majority shareholders of the entity.
They both explained that the indissoluble bond that unites Daniele to the club” was one of the reasons for choosing him as the new coach, in addition to his “enthusiasm” in “immediately accepting this challenge.” The board trusts “his ability to be a guide for the players and a proud representative of the club’s values.”
“I do not know any other path than that of application, daily sacrifice and the need to give everything I have inside to face the challenges that await us between now and the end of the season,” De Rossi declared to the club’s media.
The former soccer player acknowledged feeling an “indescribable emotion” for this new adventure. “Being competitive, fighting for our goals and trying to achieve them are the only priorities that my coaching staff and I have set for ourselves,” she concluded.
De Rossi played 616 games and scored 63 for Roma, becoming one of its figures and legends. In addition, his record includes two Coppas, in 2007 and 2008, and one Italian Super Cup, in 2007. With Italy, he earned 117 caps and won the 2006 World Cup.
After his retirement in January 2020, after signing for a year with the Argentine Boca Juniors, De Rossi was part of the coaching staff of the Euro Cup champion Italy in 2021which helped him take charge of the Spal bench last season.