Page 24 - Soccer360 Issue 105

ROMA SPOTLIGHT
ABOVE:
Leandro Paredes of AS Roma celebrates with Stephan El Shaarawy after scoring
ROMA RESET
IN JANUARY 2024 ROMA SACKED POPULAR YET OUTSPOKEN COACH JOSE MOURINHO AND REPLACED HIM WITH CLUB LEGEND DANIELE DE ROSSI AS THEY LOOK TO IMPROVE THEIR SERIE A STATUS. STEPHEN KASIEWICZ EXPLORES THE SERIES OF EVENTS, AND THE STORY OF THE FRIEDKIN GROUP’S OWNERSHIP.
The billionaire owners of Roma cancelled the Jose Mourinho show when they sacked the ‘Special One’ after a turbulent two and a half years in charge.
The Friedkin Group, who invested nearly $700 million to take control of the Italian giants in August 2020, regained centre stage from the plain-spoken Portuguese by relieving him of his duties as the Giallorossi plummeted
down the Serie A table. Adrift of the European spots in ninth position and dumped out of the Coppa Italia by bitter
city rivals Lazio in mid-January, the veteran tactician was stunningly removed from his position before things deteriorated further. Mourinho’s volatile touchline behaviour coupled with a litany of outbursts and complaints proved too much for owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin, with the increasing possibility of missing out on millions in potential European revenue next term also prompting the pair to pull the trigger before it was too late.
The Friedkins sought to shift the spotlight away from Mourinho’s departure as they installed legendary ex-Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi as his replacement. It was an unexpected and surprising move as the World Cup winner guided SPAL to just three
wins in 17 games in Italy’s second tier in his first job as a professional coach last season. De Rossi’s inexperience was clearly not an issue for the Friedkin family, although the 40-year-old was only handed the reins until the conclusion of the current campaign.
It’s quite a stretch, if not a fanciful notion, to suggest that De Rossi will come anywhere near matching Mourinho’s achievements
at Roma. It appears as if he is only a mere stopgap as the Freidkins ponder the pros and cons of bringing in another high-profile name to the Italian capital.
Mourinho remains one of the most successful European coaches in the last two decades and has never been shy about detailing his past triumphs. Always candid
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