Mourinho: 'This is the worst start of my career'

Almost five thousand Roma faithful travelled to Genova to see their beloved team play against Serie A newcomers, and after a 7-0 win over Empoli, everything looked bright. But the night ended in the worst possible way as Jose Mourinho’s team lost 4-1 and players were standing in front of the away end listening to chants ‘We want respect’ and ‘We’ve had enough’, along with the usual one ‘Show some ba**s.’ But this time, coach Jose Mourinho was with them. The iconic tactician usually goes straight to the locker room, but now he wants to respect the fans and be there when it’s tough.

Roma is in crisis: Genova score four past Mourinho and co.

This is his worst start of the season in any of the clubs he managed and Roma’s worst since 2004. He was not so keen to talk to DAZN right after the game, but still said a lot of things.

“I apologise to the studio, but I have no real desire to talk. I didn’t speak to the players. When I don’t talk to the players, then it means I can’t really discuss this in-depth and answer your questions either. We started badly, that is true, the goal was an ugly one to concede. So was the one we conceded in the opening minutes in Verona. There was a reaction, we equalised, but then immediately Diego Llorente got injured and the structure of the team changed, for the worse. With Mancini on a yellow card and the profile of this referee, we considered it right to take him off, so we changed the structure again. When our goal was ruled offside, we felt from the touchline that we were about to equalise, Genoa were sitting deep, we were dominating even without creating many great opportunities. Our changes were all attacking moves, but obviously at their third goal it was over. Sometimes it can become a total and utter disaster in these situations, conceding five or six. The fourth goal for me was out of the context of the game” said Mourinho.

One of the most striking things about this bad start (three defeats in six games, 11 allowed goals) is the defence, which was always Mourinho’s trademark, but now it’s really bad.

“It is true. I don’t want to say many things, but people talked about the Roger Ibanez errors that became almost iconic in the big games, but the truth is he gave us incredible solidity. We lost Chris Smalling, you can see how many games we won without Chris. When we are missing those players, we lack solidity. However, to say we lost the solidity because we are missing this or that player is not fair either. Solidity is also the consequence of team spirit and collective work to track back. We have lost some of that. At the moment, every shot we allow is a goal. That is nothing against Rui, it is just the situation we are seeing” said the Portuguese.

Mourinho also used this opportunity to remind everyone that he has two European finals in his last two seasons with this team.

“It is the worst start of my career too. However, I also think it is the first time that Roma have played two European Finals in a row. It is the squad we have and with this squad we must emerge from this situation. There is no more transfer window, nobody can leave or arrive, this is the group we have with its qualities and its problems. We have no time to cry. We can cry internally, because it hurts our heart, especially for me because of my rapport with the Roma fans” explained the Portuguese.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 7

Saturday

16:00: (5.00) Lecce (3.70) Napoli (1.80)

19:00: (1.80) Milan (3.60) Lazio (5.10)

21:45: (7.50) Salernitana (4.50) Inter (1.43)

Sunday

13:30: (1.67) Bologna (3.70) Empoli (5.50)

16:00: (2.45) Udinese (3.25) Genoa (3.25)

19:00: (2.55) Atalanta (3.45) Juventus (2.90)

21:45: (1.45) Roma (4.30) Frosinone (7.75)

Monday

19:30: (2.20) Sassuolo (3.50) Monza (3.20)

19:30: (1.90) Torino (3.40) Verona (4.30)

21:45: (1.47) Fiorentina (4.20) Cagliari (7.50)

***odds are subject to change***