2024-01-16T12:36:41+00:00
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/ Italian Serie A club AS Roma parted ways with Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho on Tuesday. The club’s owners said the decision was taken with the “best interests” of the team in mind.
Roma are ninth in the league after losing 3-1 away to AC Milan on Sunday and have struggled to overcome the absence of a number of key players through injury, including striker Paulo Dybala.
The team is 22 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
“AS Roma can confirm that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff will leave the club with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement. “Further updates regarding the new first-team coaching staff will be announced in due course.”
In a short message to fans on social media, Mourinho simply said “Goodbye, Roma” alongside a picture of himself holding the Conference League trophy he won in 2022.
Roma have taken just four points from their last five league games and were knocked out of the Coppa Italia last week after a 1-0 defeat to local rivals Lazio.
Following the defeat, Mourinho described himself as Harry Potter, saying his position at the club raised fans’ expectations of success.
He also responded to his critics, describing himself as the perfect model of professionalism, despite his team’s recent poor results.
“On behalf of everyone at AS Roma, we would like to thank Jose for his passion and efforts since arriving at the club,” club owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said in a statement.
“We will always have fond memories of his time at Roma but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club. We wish Jose and his staff all the best for the future.”
Mourinho, who has managed several major European clubs including Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, took charge of Roma in 2021.
The Portuguese coach led the team to win the European Conference League in 2022. He also led them to the Europa League final in 2023, where they lost on penalties to Sevilla.
Roma will host Verona, who are 18th in the league, in their next match next Saturday.
Italian media reported that former Roma captain Daniele De Rossi, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, could replace Mourinho.
De Rossi is another icon for Roma fans as a son of the club he has played for over the past two decades, alongside fellow icon and “fans’ idol” Francesco Totti.
The 40-year-old has little experience as a coach, with his only stint in the role with SPAL lasting just four months last season, ending with the team being relegated to Serie C.