Roma sacks Mourinho and signs coach De Rossi | sports

Roma, competing in the Italian Football League, announced today, Tuesday, the appointment of its former player, Daniele De Rossi, as the team’s new coach until the end of the current season, hours after separating from the Portuguese Jose Mourinho.

Roma occupies ninth place in the league standings after losing 1-3 away to Milan last Sunday, and struggled to overcome the absence of a number of its prominent players due to injury, including striker Paulo Dybala.

The team is 22 points behind leaders Inter Milan.

The club said – in a statement – that “Roma Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of coach Daniele De Rossi until June 30, 2024.”

The statement added, “De Rossi will return home as coach of the team, after a busy career as a player for 18 years in Rome. His first match will be against Verona in the league next Saturday evening at the Olympic Stadium.”

Roma scored only 4 points from the last 5 league matches and was eliminated from the Italian Cup last week after a 0-1 defeat against its local rival Lazio.

Following the defeat, Mourinho described himself as the fictional wizard Harry Potter, saying that his position at the club raises fans’ expectations of success.

He also responded to his critics, describing himself as an ideal model of professionalism despite his team's recent poor results.

In turn, club owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said – in a statement – “We would like to thank Jose on behalf of everyone at the Roma Club for his passion and efforts since his arrival to the club.”

The statement added, “We will always have wonderful memories of his time in Roma, but we believe that immediate change is in the club's interest. We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in the future.”

Mourinho, who led many major European clubs, including Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, took charge of coaching Roma in 2021.

The Portuguese coach led the team to win the European Conference League championship in 2022. He also led it to the European League final in 2023, where it lost on penalties to Sevilla.

In its next match, Roma will host Verona (18th in the league) next Saturday.