As José Mourinho prepares to take AS Roma into the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday evening, the Portuguese gave some interesting quotes to the British media on the changes in management style he is experiencing with the Italian club.
Mourinho also spoke about his former team Manchester United, who recently ended with their worst-ever points total in the Premier League era, offering a degree of vindication to his words upon leaving the club back in 2018.
Roma face Feyenoord in Tirana on Wednesday, where the Giallorossi hope to win their first European trophy in over 60 years. Mourinho’s side finished 6th in Serie A, gaining just one place higher than Paulo Fonseca managed last season, and for the former Porto boss the latest chapter of his esteemed career certainly represents something different.
“It’s a different project from the ones I was used to,” he told BT Sport. “When I go to Chelsea, I go to win; when I go to Inter, I go to win; when I go to Real Madrid, I go to win. Here the objective is: come build, you have time. And the word ‘time’ is something quite new for me. I had to arrive and win. If you don’t – you’re out. If you win two consecutive titles at Chelsea and don’t win the third, you have to leave. The concept of time was something that made an impact on me.
“Of course there are times when you feel a little bit of frustration, because you don’t want to play to finish 5th or 6th. But I want to believe that the three-year contract if for an evolution and that next season we will have conditions to be better.”
Speaking to his former player, interviewer Joe Cole, Mourinho admits he has adapted his management style at the Stadio Olimpico to be a little less demanding of the standards he has experienced earlier in his career. So far, reports have suggested he enjoys a strong relationship with his players, as well as the Roma fans.
“I think you would be surprised with the way I work here,” Mourinho told Cole. “You know me from the highest level of intensity and demanding. Of course, now it’s different. The players mistakes; the player evolution; the young players; the expectation. You know that for me mistakes are difficult for me to live with. I learn here how to change my profile as a coach. And honestly, I like it. It’s a different way to work and make my empathy with the players and fans.
“It’s been good for me. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to go back to my reality. I want one day to go back to my reality, because it’s my natural habitat. But the contract I signed in Rome is a contract I want to take until the end.”
United reflections
Mourinho was inevitably asked about his former club Manchester United, at which he famously once stated that finishing 2nd in the Premier League was one of his greatest achievements. United finished 6th in England this season ahead of the arrival of new manager Erik Ten Hag, with the club undergoing what many feel is long overdue restructuring off the pitch with a shake up of recruitment and sporting directors.
“Time has told? Unfortunately, yes,” Mourinho told BT Sport. “Of course, honestly my English connection is with Chelsea. But Man United, the fans are special. There is lots of good people inside the club. So, it’s not like I’m happy to be right. I’m not happy to be right; I would like to be wrong.
“But I knew that I was right. For me, the first thing you need to do to change things when they aren’t going right is to change the mentality and organisation. And it was not coming. I knew that for me to leave was not going to resolve the situation. I knew that, unfortunately. But I wish them the best and I hope that they make it.”
If Roma defeat Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League final, Mourinho will become the first winner of the inaugural competition and set another record of having lifted all three major European club football competitions. While the trophy may not hold the prestige of others won during his career, the Portuguese will no doubt be determined to be victorious in the final.
“We cannot hide that it is the third competition in the rankings, but after the group phase I think Europa League and Conference League is basically the same.
“But this is our Champions League. This is our level. We cannot win the Champions League; we are not even going to play it next season. So, this is our Champions League and after 14 matches this is the last one. We have to try.”
By Sean Gillen
