Paulo Dybala scored in the quarter-final win over Feyenoord "We won't travel to Budapest on holiday," Mourinho felt the need to specify. Roma haven't won any of their last seven fixtures, the longest streak since Mourinho's arrival, but have a clear identity and won't renounce it now: maximum defensive attention, extreme aggression on every ball, a filtering midfield and dangerous counter attacks. He hasn't played from the start for one and a half months and he's been preserved in the league recently.Įven so, he has the quality to decide any game.
The Argentine striker, who's been struggling with an ankle knock, is the squad's most talented player, capable of adding creativity to a solid side. The Stadio Olimpico is sold out for every game and will be also on Wednesday, when fans gather to watch the final against Sevilla (20:00 BST) on large screens.ĭespite Sevilla's qualities and their great run under boss Jose Luis Mendilibar, Roma have all it takes to win the title, especially if they can count on Dybala. Dybala adds spark to Mourinho's 'solid' Roma Not many football characters can boast a mural in Italy, yet he has one in the Testaccio area, in which he rides his Vespa, a present of the Friedkin family he jealously guards at the Trigoria training centre.
Mourinho recreated a community and gave it an identity. Roma supporters are extremely passionate by nature, but the last 15 inconsistent years, with the decline and departure of Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, left a mark. He and his players won the Conference League and built a deep empathy with the fans. People love his continuous critics against referees, the system and his own club, too weak and incapable of putting together a competitive team. The city was waiting for a Messiah, Mourinho understood that and he's been feeding it with dreams and emotions for the past two years. Mourinho has his own mural in in the Testaccio area of Rome Albeit aged 60, the Portuguese remains histrionic and polarising: either you are with him or against. This is deliberately exaggerated and upsets many people. Mourinho recently admitted to wearing a recorder, just to defend himself from the fourth official. If the fourth official intervenes, or doesn't, the whole dugout stand up and gesticulate wildly. Tottenham Hotspur, who he teased during Uefa's open media day, are the only former club he couldn't really get on side.Īt any small referee decision, a conceited group of Roma players scream for explanation. Mourinho is unique at gaining such buy-in from players. "Jose is the king, we are his queen," Dybala recently said. His players follow him blindly and are ready to throw themselves into the fire for him when needed. What impresses most is the continuous process through which Mourinho moulds a true team. 'Either you are with Mourinho or against' Quiz: Which managers have won most European trophies?.Mourinho has been the driving catalyst behind the commendable turnaround. Two months later, in front of an ecstatic crowd, superstar Paulo Dybala was unveiled during an emotional night. Fourteen years after their last Coppa Italia title, Roma's captain Lorenzo Pellegrini lifted the Europa Conference League trophy to the Tirana sky last May, a first ever continental success for the club. That was a coup de theatre of the finest art - no-one expected such a high calibre manager and such a character to return to Italy after his successes and controversial moments at previous club Inter Milan, least of all depressed Roma fans.
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