As all AS Roma fans know, Jose ‘The Self Appointed Special One’ Mourinho’s time at the Stadio Olimpico was short and sweet, and certainly full of extravagant fire, fall outs, disciplinary issues and simply put, off pitch matters that involved his mouth became a bigger topic of conversation than our on pitch performances.His record with us was very good indeed in reality as the now 62 year old Portugal native oversaw 138 games in his almost three year spell at the club, picking up 68 wins and 31 draws across all competitions. Although domestic success evaded him, we did lift the UEFA Europa Conference League title back in the 2021/22 campaign. Again though, and as many fans expected when he was first appointed, the off pitch dramas he caused – often by design – to distract from on pitch issues are basically what he will be remembered for. But like fans who enjoy gaming and use Betpanda promotions to help them on their way to success, distraction was Mourinho’s stock in trade as he thought it was his own bonus code, and you use whatever you can when you want to win.It means he probably will never get the credit he is entitled to when it comes to on the pitch matters, but I Giallorossi faithful would be torn on giving that credit anyway given how he turned the club into a media frenzy laughing stock with his antics and from nostalgia purposes a recent interview by former Roma Chief Executive Officer Guido Fienga probably will not help when it comes to changing opinions on our former gaffer – although in fairness his interview does add some personal context that at least some Romanista’s will appreciate.Fienga’s spell in Rome did span several years, and he was in position when we appointed Mourinho back in 2021 but he moved on after a couple of months for pastures new and he latterly joined Saudi Arabian Pro League side Al-Nassr, so his spell with Mourinho directly was only for a short period of time – but it was still long enough for an impression to be made.When asked for three words to describe the serial winning manager, Fienga went for ‘super intelligent’ and ‘skilled at his job’ and then very quickly joked ‘but I can’t say the third one!’. He went on to say that working as Mourinho’s CEO was obviously a ‘great challenge’ given Jose’s general character, self belief and confidence but he did reveal that in private he was also a ‘very funny’ guy and that there was a more personable side to him that he felt few had seen.Clearly the two had their clashes as you would expect in that kind of professional relationship, but there is also a warmth that comes out in Fienga’s words, and most definitely a very good level of respect that was shared between the two of them, as he admitted that they have still stayed in touch and continue to talk on occasions despite him moving on from the club.The best line in the interview in many ways is Fienga saying that his role very quickly became akin to being a ‘firefighter in California’ given Mourinho’s arguments with officials and the league itself, but he further admitted that he has ‘many things to say, but I can’t, for both our reputations’ and that will simply leave fans wanting more details because it sounds very juicy indeed.
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