Jose Mourinho didn’t have to wait long to return to the dugout following his dismissal at Tottenham as he was hired as Roma’s new head coach ahead of the 2021/22 season. It’s a return to Serie A for the ‘Special One’ for the first time since leaving Inter Milan in 2010.
At the time of departing Inter 11 years ago, Mourinho was considered as one of the best coaches in European football. He had just led the Italian club to their best season ever, as they won the treble, including the Champions League.
Despite Success, Jose Has Something to Prove
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid boss will feel he has something to prove after things went wrong in North London. He inherits a squad that underachieved last season. A relatively paltry three of his players are representing Italy at the European Championship this summer – the gli Azzurri have Euro 2021 odds of +1100, suggesting that this isn’t even a difficult squad to break into.
It remains to be seen what kind of budget the new Roma boss will have to add to his squad in the transfer window. He will be keeping a close eye on the European Championships to try and spot a future star.
The pressure is on Mourinho to perform well in Rome. His last three major jobs – all of which have come in England – have ended badly. He was dismissed by Chelsea, Manchester United and, more recently Tottenham, all of which for not performing as well as the club expected.
Mourinho has a reputation for falling out with certain players in his squad. This was particularly the case in Manchester, where he had a public row with Paul Pogba, while he was very honest to the press in his assessment of full-back Luke Shaw.
Despite his recent failures in the Premier League, Roma were convinced he was the right man for the job. His success with Inter is still remembered in Italy so they will be hoping he can replicate that.
Italian Football Could Still Suit Mourinho
The pace and style of football in Serie A is very different to the Premier League. Last season former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was able to have success with Inter, winning the championship with his side.
Mourinho’s biggest strength is how organized he has his teams. He is happy to take away some of their attacking flair to ensure the team is set up to defend well. This worked well in his last spell in the Italian league, so he is likely to adopt those tactics again.
In Edin Dzeko, the new Roma boss has a target man upfront. Expect to see the experienced striker play a key role. He has many qualities his new manager will appreciate and admire.
In many ways, this is the biggest job of Mourinho’s career. If he can lead Roma to title glory, it could be his best achievement yet. Equally, if things don’t quite go the way the club expects, maybe this will be the last time we see the Special One at the highest level in Europe.
