Why Jose Mourinho failed as AS Roma’s manager

AS Roma has just sacked Jose Mourinho after a poor start to this season, and the “Special One” will be out of a job yet again.

Mourinho is one of the world’s best coaches and has a stunning record in European competitions.

He led Roma to win the Conference League in 2022, an achievement that their fans will not forget in a hurry.

When they named him their manager, Mourinho was expected to take Roma back inside the top four and bring Champions League football back to the Stadio Olimpico.

Maurizio Sarri of Lazio did it before his team, which was not what anyone expected, but fans could allow him to get away with that if he took them into the Champions League also.

That could have happened this term if Roma had won the Europa League last year as they reached the final and faced Sevilla.

Mourinho started that match, having never lost a European final and made Roma fans dream of back-to-back European trophies.

However, that never happened as Sevilla defeated them, albeit in controversial fashion, and Roma had to wait for another season before returning to the Champions League.

The owners expected that to happen this term, but Roma won only 8 of their opening 20 league games and were five points off the Champions League places when he was sacked.

The future of Mourinho had been the subject of much speculation during the season, and he admitted he wanted to sign a new contract.

However, the club’s owners pulled the plug on his stay after they lost to AC Milan, and Roma ticket buyers will hope a better manager is named as his replacement. But why did he fail and get sacked?

Refusal to adjust his system

Mourinho has built a reputation as a defensive-minded coach and was adamant that it will still bring him success.

It did when he won the Europa Conference League, but not adjusting his system to make it more modern was a contributing factor to his sack.

The former Chelsea manager signed some of the best attackers on the continent like Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, yet his team focused too much on the defensive side of the game.

This meant he could not make the most of the talents at his disposal, and that was a recipe for disaster.

His style became stale and boring, and it stopped bringing results, so it was time for him to leave.

Constantly criticising his players

Managers are in their role to nurture and improve their players, which is more important than criticising them when they go wrong.

The best coaches also try to avoid criticising their players in the open, but Mourinho was the opposite.

He fell out with most of his stars, including Chris Smalling and Renato Sanchez and publicly threw the entire team under the bus in some instances.

Sometimes, it works and makes the players perform better, but many times, it hurts the players and the team, which affects their on-field performances.

Mourinho began losing the dressing room as he constantly criticised different players out in the public, and it was just a matter of time before he got sacked.

If the players do not feel supported and loved enough by their manager, they will struggle to deliver their best performances.

Losing his temper against officials

Jose Mourinho was sent off on so many occasions and was banned severally during his time as the manager of Roma.

The Portuguese coach was at his chaotic best during the final months of his time at the club and looked like a manager who was tired of being there.

In his pressers, he claimed he wanted a new contract, but he was increasingly erratic when he spent time on the touchline.

He was constantly causing problems and trying to get into a fight with officials and other managers.

Roma is one of Italy’s biggest clubs and they have worked hard to maintain a good reputation.

It makes no sense for their manager to ruin it with his touchline antics, and Mourinho could have done that.

His behavour was no longer representative of a team that wants to be considered a well-run club, and they did the right thing by sacking him.

Not focusing on improving his team

Roma does not have as much financial clout as Juventus and Inter Milan, so they needed a manager who can groom players, and make the team better.

The owners deserve credit for pulling off some stunning transfers, and Mourinho had to improve his team every season as new additions were made to the group.

However, that was never the case, and his team regressed in the last year of his stay at the club.

The Special One cannot point at a player he will boast of improving in the last year, and there lies a clear sign that he had to leave.

He ended the club’s wait for a trophy by winning the Conference League, however, Roma has become terrible since that triumph, and it makes no sense.

One reason they went all out to sign a top manager like him was because they wanted a winner who could transform the team with a winning mindset.

Winning that trophy and reaching the final of the Europa League required a lot from the team, but Roma has not improved and should be in a better position in the league by now.

A new manager will have a lot of work to do in fixing the mindset of the players and giving them confidence that they can win any game.

Getting carried away with winning the Europa Conference League

Winning the Conference League in 2022 awoken the city of Rome, and Romanistas will remain in love with Mourinho because of that success.

The Portuguese took an unfancied Roma side into that competition and won it, which also improved his record in the European finals.

However, it seems he was stuck with that success and never moved past it, especially after failing to win the Europa League last season.

Mourinho was keen to talk about getting a new deal at the club when his team was underperforming in all competitions.

He seems confident that he still deserved a contract because he won a European trophy for the club.

Roma has done the right thing by ending his spell as their manager, and the Special One might struggle to find a big club that will hand him a chance.

He has already flopped at Tottenham before moving to Rome, and it is hard to consider him an elite coach who can be trusted to bring results to any club.