Serie A

BITTER Jose Mourinho left Roma on a sour note… quite literally.The Portuguese was sacked by the Serie A side last month amid a dismal run of form and a string of baffling outbursts.
Jose Mourinho was sacked by Roma last monthCredit: Rex
Mourinho, 61, was tearful as he left Roma’s training ground for the final time.
Following his departure he posted a video montage of his period at the club to social media.
He captioned it: “Sweat, blood, tears, joy, sadness, love, brothers, history, heart, eternity.”
According to reports in Italy, his leaving message for his players was remarkably more cold.
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After winning the Europa Conference League in 2022, Mourinho received a ring from his players.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager was thrilled to have returned to winning ways following his side’s final victory over Feyenoord.
But according to Italian outlet Il Messaggero, following his sacking, he gave the ring back.
They claim that Mourinho left the ring in skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini’s locker on his way out.
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It’s even added that he accompanied it with a note reading: “When you are men, give it back to me.”
Just weeks after his Roma sacking, Mourinho snubbed a quick return to management with Saudi side Al-Shabab.
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Over the weekend, disgruntled Chelsea fans sang his name during their side’s dismal 4-2 defeat to Wolves at Stamford Bridge.
According to his old mate Alan Pardew, Mourinho would be up for a third stint at Stamford Bridge, should the job become available.
His former player Mario Melchiot, however, believes it would take the England job to tempt Mourinho back to these shores.
The Dutchman, 47, told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “Do I see him coming back to England? I’m not sure. Why would he? He has done so many great things in this country.
“He had two spells in charge of Chelsea and was successful in both, he’s also managed Manchester United and Tottenham before going out to Italy.
“I just don’t know what else he’d need to prove in England. What is he going to do next? Go to Liverpool? Probably not. I suppose the only job he might take in England, now, is the national job.
“It’s something that has been spoken about in the past and, personally, I think that would just come down to what the FA want from their next manager.”
Inside Jose Mourinho’s last days in RomeBy Kealan Hughes and Etienne Fermie
Jose Mourinho hit out at officials and managers towards the end of his tenure, which was marred by ill discipline.
He received three red cards in 2022-23 and three more this term, including in a feisty Rome derby defeat to Lazio.
The Portuguese was sent off in the match prior to that against Atalanta and also against Monza, after which he told opposite number Raffaele Palladino: “You talk a lot and then you cry.”
Last term, Mourinho tore into Serie A whistler Daniele Chiffi after claiming to have “worn a wire” in order to protect himself from sanctions.
The former Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham boss said of Chiffi: “He is the worst referee I have met in my life.
“He is the worst. Technically he’s horrible. Zero empathy. Zero communication. Zero awareness.”
As his tenure began to unravel, the Italian media also found themselves in Mourinho’s firing line.
Following a 2-1 win over Sassuolo in December last year he refused to speak Italian after the match, despite being fluent.
Instead, he bizarrely only spoke Portuguese, with an interpreter translating for confused local reporters.
A few weeks later things spiralled even further, with Mourinho snubbing the media altogether after his red card against Atalanta.
Mourinho received incredible backing from the Roma fanbase, but some began to tire of his antics this season.
With unrest growing further after Lazio dumped his side out of the Coppa Italia, Mourinho bizarrely compared himself to a fictional wizard.
He said: “The Roma fans are the most incredible I have seen. Their coach is Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho and he raises expectations.” More

JOSE MOURINHO will have “one last dance” as a top-level manager, claims his former player William Gallas.The Portuguese was sacked by Roma earlier this month with his underachieving side sat ninth in Serie A.
Jose Mourinho was sacked by Roma earlier this monthCredit: Reuters
William Gallas played under Mourinho at ChelseaCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Mourinho’s final months in the Eternal City were littered with bizarre incidents; from frequent red cards and snubbing the press to substituting a star just 18 minutes after bringing him on.
The veteran boss has now been sacked by his last four clubs, dating back to stints with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham.
Gallas, however, believes that he still has a dash of “something special”.
Chatting to Genting Casino, he said: “I think Jose has got something special in him. I think he can have one more big moment as a manager; one more last dance.
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“I do think it all depends on the players he is working with. Jose needs players who are warriors. He needs the type of player that will fight for him but are also big enough to accept criticism from a manager.
“I’ve spoken about this before, but the new generation of footballers are completely different to the generation Jose managed so successfully at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
“A lot of these players do not accept criticism. They don’t understand how hard you have to work for one year to achieve something as a player.
“If you want to lift a trophy at the end of the season, you need to give everything. You need to have the mentality of a warrior.
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“You never give up. You fight. You accept that you will suffer for twelve months. I don’t think the new generation are ready to make these sacrifices.”
Gallas, 46, believes that Roma lacked players with the right attitudes to fight for big titles under Mourinho.
He added: “For Jose’s last dance, he has to be at a club with players that are ready to work with the intensity that he does.
“Don’t forget, even though was sacked by Roma, the fans adored him. The fans created banners that criticised their own players and accused them of not having the balls to win under Mourinho.
“That tells you everything the fans think of their players. Mourinho arrived in Rome with a winners mentality. I don’t think the players had the same mentality as him.”
‘HE HAD IMPECCABLE STANDARDS’
During his pomp, Mourinho was never afraid to dig out some of his biggest stars if he didn’t feel they were performing up to scratch.
Gallas, who won two Premier League titles and a League Cup under Mourinho, revealed: “He had impeccable standards.
“He would shout at his players at half-time even when we were winning matches. I can remember one moment where he started shouting at his big players: his main players.
“They were a little bit surprised to hear Jose shout at them. That was just before the game against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2004 (Chelsea beat Barcelona 5-4 on aggregate, winning the second leg at Stamford Bridge 4-2).
“He killed some of these guys, so that shows you what type of a personality he was.
“He was a winner. He loved his players and was happy to manage us.
“When he shouted at these players, he showed everyone in the squad that we were on the same level. Status didn’t mean anything to Jose.”
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Mourinho has rejected a swift return to management with Al-Shabab.
The Saudi Pro League side tried to tempt Mourinho to the Middle East, although he is said to be holding out for the right opportunity in Europe.
Mourinho ‘killed’ some of his players ahead of a famous clash with BarcelonaCredit: AFP More