Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager, Jose Mourinho has been announced as the new manager of Serie A side AS Roma. The Portuguese manager will take charge of the Italian side from the 2021-22 season.
"After meetings with the ownership, I immediately understood their ambitions for Roma," said Mourinho.
"Together we want to build a winning project. The incredible passion of the fans convinced me to accept the job. I can't wait to start next season. Daje Roma!"
The 58-year-old was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur on April 19 after a string of poor results and it didn't take long for him to land a new job. Despite being criticised for his style of play in recent times, the Portuguese coach remains a well-known figure in Italy where he guided Inter to a historic treble in the 2009-10 season. He has signed a three-year deal with Roma.
😯 Jose Mourinho will return to Serie A next season as Roma manager for the first time since leading Inter to the European treble in 2009/10
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 4, 2021
😜 The last side to defeat Mourinho's Inter in Serie A were... Roma pic.twitter.com/oZjgx6pHxE
“The club are delighted to announce an agreement has been reached with Jose Mourinho for him to become our new head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season," AS Roma wrote on Twitter.
José Mourinho has signed his ‘top secret’ contract until June 2024 with AS Roma yesterday. He strongly wanted to return in Italy. 🇵🇹🛬
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 4, 2021
Sarri was never an option: the only contact with AS Roma was in January. Mourinho was chosen by the Portuguese sports director Tiago Pinto. 🟡🔴
Mourinho's departure from Tottenham was the first instance in his managerial career where he failed to win a trophy. During his stint with Manchester United, he guided the Red Devils to the EFL Cup glory as well as the UEFA Europa League title. Journalist Fabrizio Romano has rebuffed the claims that former Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri was Roma's first choice. He has said that there was contact between the two parties in January, but Mourinho's availability made Roma move for the Portuguese.
As for Roma, they are seventh in the Serie A table and are 14 points outside of the Champions League spots.
Meanwhile, Mourinho's appointment as AS Roma manager would mean a reunion with Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The duo played under the Portuguese during his time at Manchester United.
Mkhitaryan seeing Mourinho appointed as the new manager of Roma pic.twitter.com/U0XW3myKLE
— ᥅ (@TheFergusonWay) May 4, 2021
The news was certain to cause an uproar on Twitter and this is how the fans are reacting to it:
José Mourinho new Roma manager is definitely the managerial news of the year.
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) May 4, 2021
And also, the most surprising I would say
Jose Mourinho back in Serie A is the perfect match again in terms of the culture, the drama, politics, the constant friction and the chaos in the division. The man is made for Calcio and it's drama, in many ways.
— Kaustubh Pandey (@Kaus_Pandey17) May 4, 2021
It's the place where we love mavericks.
Jose Mourinho appointed Roma coach a day after they announce the renovation of the Colosseum. One is a crumbling monument that once inspired awe but that's best days are well behind it and the other is the Colosseum send tweet
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) May 4, 2021
At last, an eternal job for Jose Mourinho. https://t.co/Fz28OHcOrs
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) May 4, 2021
Jose Mourinho back in Italy and trying to take down his former club, Inter, coached by Antonio Conte, who just took down his former club, Juventus.
— Nicky Bandini (@NickyBandini) May 4, 2021
Nobody does storylines like Serie A.
