Is the handwriting on the wall for the Roma boss just months into his return to Italy? Many Premier League supporters found the fanfare that accompanied Jose Mourinho’s Roma move somewhat strange, owing to the perceived notion his stock had fallen.
This was the upshot of his spells at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, which soured badly and served as further validation of the idea that the two-time Champions League winner was no longer the manager that flourished in the noughties and 2010s.
As is his wont, Mourinho dismissed his detractors at July’s unveiling.
“I am a victim of everything I have done before. I am a victim of how people look at me now, unfortunately,” Mourinho asserted at his presentation. “At Manchester United, I won three trophies and it was called a disaster.
“At Tottenham, after arriving in a tough moment, I reached a final that I was unable to lead the side out in. What is a disaster for me would be an amazing achievement for others.
“What is a disaster for me, others have never done in their life. It’s my fault.”
Four months since his presentation, there’s a feeling things are starting to unravel in Rome. The Giallorossi boss has won only half of his 12 Serie A games, with the defeats column showing five losses.
Followers of the club probably expected more than a 50 percent win percentage heading into November’s international break, especially as they were fourth at this stage last term having accrued five more points (24).
Admittedly — and it’s likely to be Mourinho’s riposte to any criticism — Roma sits only three points off the Champions League places, so any censure of the Portuguese may be branded biased by the man himself.
A return to the Champions League after three years away is the target, yet you sense it’ll be an arduous journey to this campaign’s denouement with cracks already starting to appear.
Indeed, doubts are beginning to grow over the former Chelsea boss even making it to the end of the season. The pattern in his recent jobs has an initial 12 to 18-month upswing preceding the destructive collapse. However, it seems ‘good Mourinho’ hasn’t even lasted in Rome. After a run of six successive wins in all competitions to start the season, and nine wins from his opening 11 games, the wheels have seemingly come off since October.
The Giallorossi have picked up only one win in their last seven, losing a staggering four in that time.
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The jarring 6-1 defeat by Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League handed the 58-year-old the heaviest defeat of his career in his 1008th game, and the biting assessment of his players post-match was astonishing.
“Perhaps I overestimated the capabilities of my players,” Mourinho said after the humiliation. “I knew Bodo/Glimt was the strongest opponent in this group, but I had hoped we would play differently.
“The XI that Bodo put out today had more quality than our second string. I must keep playing the same guys every game and take them to the limits of exhaustion.
“The problem is of quality.”
Since the aforementioned estimation of his players, the Roma boss has been sent off against Napoli, appeared irritated by refereeing decisions in the defeat by AC Milan, and was yet again critical of a select few in the reverse fixture with the Norwegians last Thursday.
On Sunday, the Rome outfit lost a 2-1 lead to collapse 3-2 at Venezia and the seemingly under-fire Mourinho was dissatisfied with his players and the officiating.
“Maybe one day I will understand why certain incidents happen,” Mourinho said when asked about referees. “There are things that stay hidden for years and one day I will understand them…”
On his players failing to manage their advantage: “We conceded the first goal on a set play that we had practiced yesterday and still got the defending wrong,” bemoaned the coach. “Another important part of the story is Venezia’s second goal. I have to protect myself here and keep my feelings to myself over what is happening.
“I can talk about the players who should’ve got yellow cards for tactical fouls, those are small details.
The Portuguese trainer’s forwards weren’t spared, either.
“I could say we had many chances to go 3-1 up, above all with El Shaarawy and it’s difficult to miss, but the truth is we were 2-1 up and in control,” the frustrated coach continued.
“What happened, for me… I don’t want to say anything else. How is it possible to create so much and then not score?”
On the one hand, you can have a bit of sympathy for Mourinho. He’s not alone in the ceaseless exasperation with refereeing calls in Italy’s top flight and some of the dropped points in the ongoing run were a tad undeserved.
Roma fashioned enough opportunities in their 1-0 defeat by Juventus to draw in Turin, while they doubtless edged the goalless encounter with Napoli on clear-cut chances created. Throw in those probable four points and the Giallorossi are in fourth, a point ahead of Atalanta and two behind Inter Milan.
Having said that, it often tends to be a slippery slope with the former Inter boss, whose tough love managerial style doesn’t get the intended reaction these days. The continued criticism of referees and touchline histrionics are attracting unwanted attention at a time the club needs a steady hand.
This hiatus is timely as it allows everyone time to regroup and hopefully find solutions after the final international break of 2021.
Mourinho reminded the media this Roma project will take three years, but you wonder if he’ll make it through the first one with the situation in Rome.
