Mourinho Again
A few months ago, Susy Campanale would have assumed Jose Mourinho had to quit Roma for the riches of Paris Saint-Germain, but the Special One has discovered the joys of a regular Joe.
It is safe to say that I have never been much of a Jose Mourinho fan. This is despite him having a remarkable record in cup competitions and being absolute box office for the media, providing an endless supply of tasty quotes and controversial stories. His style of football has always been a variation of defend and counter, taking bus-parking to the level of an art form. That approach is more than evident in his current trajectory with Roma, throttling the life out of teams with more quality and greater strength in depth, managing to hold out under siege to go all the way first in the Europa Conference League, then the Europa League. It works, but it’s not much fun to watch for the neutral.
Despite all of that, I am growing fonder of the Special One now that he is starting to acknowledge he’s not that special after all. When the rumours emerged of interest from Paris Saint-Germain, it was easy to assume that this was definitely going to be his next step – and a natural one. After all, Mourinho surely must be the first choice for a club that is obsessed with wanting to win the Champions League for the first time, bringing in a coach who specialises in Cup competitions and especially in Europe. Indeed, the man himself has complained for two years that Roma cannot afford to give him a better squad, remembering the sheer scale of the resources he could draw on at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
However, Mourinho sounds completely genuine when he says that Roma has helped change him, as a person as well as a coach. It is difficult to find fans more passionate than those of Roma – perhaps only Napoli, whose joy was clear for all to see when finally winning the Scudetto for the first time in over 30 years – and both those clubs are also gripped to tiny moments of success. It makes them experience every glimpse of victory the way most would view winning the treble. It is hard not to be won over by the scenes of wild celebration from a group of supporters starved of excitement.
It’s a world away from the spoilt, entitled behaviour of some PSG fans in recent years, never more so than this season. Imagine having Lionel Messi and Neymar in your squad, yet hurling abuse at them even after securing yet another Ligue 1 title.
They complain these big over-paid stars don’t ‘care’ about the club sufficiently. When you tempt someone with ridiculous sums of money, don’t be surprised if they consider that their main reason for being with you. There’s certainly no project at PSG to be talked into, the coach changes regularly, the players come and go, even Kylian Mbappé is at the centre of speculation every single summer. Where the fans really went overboard was insulting Marco Verratti, a man who has been at this club for a decade and is the closest thing they have to a genuine firm fixture.
Looking at these fans and the Roma ultras, I would hope Mourinho sees there is more satisfaction in achieving things where it is unexpected. That’s where he made his name at FC Porto and Inter, now it’s nice to see him remember how exhilarating that was. “I have changed as a person,” he said. “For many years I wanted to win for myself, whereas now I want to continue to win with the same intensity as before or even greater, but no longer for myself, but for the players who never won. I think of the fan who smiles because his team has won. Of those who go through long journeys to see their side play.” That doesn’t sound like he would get the same sensations from the sections of PSG fans who staged a protest and abandoned their own title celebrations.
There is also a reason why Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are so obsessed with winning the Champions League that they’ll throw billions at the problem. These clubs achieved precious little until they were purchased and remain essentially funded by Gulf oil states. They are the epitome of ‘new money’ in football, desperately trying to purchase their place in the pantheon of greats who made the history of this sport.
The problem is that they also create an atmosphere among their fans of entitlement. League titles, national cups, they’re all to be taken for granted, while anything less than Champions League glory will be considered a terrible disappointment. At least City have created a team with Pep Guardiola, whereas PSG have no visible plan of any kind. I doubt Mourinho would change that, nor would he enjoy the experience.
