AGI – The surprise announcement of José Mourinho’s return to Italy comes just under 11 years after his equally sensational farewell. It was the night of the Treble, May 22, 2010, when the Portuguese coach exited the Santiago Bernabeu in the car of the Real Madrid president, his next destination after having won everything possible with the Nerazzurri. Now comes the news that it Special One will be the coach of Roma for the next three years, until 30 June 2024, in place of Paulo Fonseca to whom the club had officially given the welcome at the end of the season with a press release shortly before.
Beyond the Portuguese nationality of the Giallorossi general manager Tiago Pinto, the only clue that could make us think of Mou’s return to Italy was an interview with the Times: “If one day I had to go to Italy to coach a rival club ( of Inter, ed) I wouldn’t think twice. I have this professional way of looking at things. I feel good about myself. ” After CR7, Italian football again enlists another Portuguese capable of making the world of Serie A talk.
“Zero tituli”
From “I’m not an idiot” to “Intellectual prostitution”, from “Zero tituli” to “the noise of enemies”, the 58-year-old ‘vate’ from Setubal has already proved in Italy that he perfectly knows the mechanisms of communication. “We are delighted and excited to welcome José Mourinho to the AS Roma family – declared the president Dan Friedkin and the vice president Ryan Friedkin – José is a champion who has won trophies at every level and will guarantee leadership and experience extraordinary for our ambitious project. José’s engagement represents a great step forward in building a winning, solid and lasting mentality in our Club “.
“Gives Roma!”
The Special One, for its part, explained in a brief statement that it “immediately understood how high the ambition of this company is”. “The incredible passion of the Roma fans convinced me to accept the job. Daje Roma!”, He added immediately getting into the spirit of the new club. Tiago Pinto himself underlined how he wanted to look at the “desire to win” and the “passion” of a coach who is considered “perfect” for the re-foundation, as he “has the knowledge, experience and leadership to compete in all levels “.
Per Mourinho starts a new challenge: there was talk of him as a possible coach of Portugal, after the dismissal on 19 April at Tottenham which caused many to speak of a declining coach. The treacherous nickname ‘Special Once’ (special once upon a time) has returned to the English newspapers, to emphasize how he had lost the magic touch of the best seasons, when he surprised Europe with the European Cup in Porto or signed a historic feat. with Inter.
Five exemptions in a row
On an economic level, his five career exemptions (the two to Chelsea and those to Real, United and Tottenham) are painless, indeed it is estimated that they brought something like 100 million euros into the pockets of the Portuguese poet. Now, however, it is his own revolution that seems to have lost the driving force of the 22 titles won between 2003 and 2015, when it was contested between Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
One of the most successful coaches ever, loved or hated but a model to compare with for anyone sitting on the bench, is now being questioned: his football is considered by many to be outdated and speculative, he is no longer the global coach capable of mixing Portuguese softness with Italian concreteness, Anglo-Saxon hardness mitigated by Spanish fantasy. If the supporters of the Pep Guardiola model had long been targeting Mou’s football, so far at least the myth of his communicative strength resisted.
A great communicator
Nobody denied the ability to keep alive the interest of media and hyper-connected fans with jokes and gestures (unforgettable the handcuffs at Inter or the finger behind the ear aimed at Juventus fans) that helped to shift the spotlight on themselves to keep the team is sheltered. And then the granite management of the group, enhancing the cohesion of the dressing room and pointing out and marginalizing those who undermine its unity. All certainties that the latest experiences have heavily scratched.
Ironically, Mou’s decline is certified by England, where he had definitively established himself at Chelsea by winning three Premier Leagues and a Fa Cup in his two experiences. Football across the Channel seems to have turned its back on the Portuguese. The first bitterness came with the return to Stamford Bridge, in 2013: immediately a third place, then a triumphal Premier League-League Cup double in 2014-2015 which earned him a four-year contract. But the following season was disastrous and in December 2015 Mou was kicked out with the Blues who had collected 9 defeats in 16 games.
Bittersweet Old Trafford
The following season comes the experience at Manchester United with which in three years he wins a League Cup, a Europa League and a Community Shield (the English Super Cup), but without ever entering the hearts of the fans. The dismissal of 18 December 2018 comes exactly three years after that at Chelsea, with the Red Devils 19 points from the top in the Premier League. The opportunity for redemption arose 11 months later, at Tottenham. Mourinho accepts despite the obvious drawbacks: the fans do not forgive him for his long militancy at Chelsea and must take over from Mauricio Pochettino, who just six months earlier had restored the club to the Champions League final with spectacular football.
Failure at Tottenham
The first season between ups and downs ends with a sixth place in the Premier League, the second is even worse with 10 defeats in the league, the humiliating elimination in the Europa League with Dinamo Zagreb, an internal frond led by Dele Alli, Gareth Bale , Toby Alderweireld and Harry Winks. So in April he was exempted after 17 months at the Spurs: for the first time since the time of Leira, coached in 2001, he left a club with “zero tituli”, the expression he himself coined at Inter, thus closing sadly twenty years of success. But now at Roma, in a club that will almost certainly start again out of the Cups that count after a disastrous year, Mou is playing much of the chances of returning Special.
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