the portuguese Jose Mourinho, coach of Romereiterated on Monday the love he feels for the club, which he considers his “second life”, after rumors of a possible march to Saudi Arabia forced him to settle by saying that, despite the fact that the offers existed, “never” I thought of leaving.
“The Friedkins (owners of the club) conveyed their enthusiasm to me in their time, I liked the prospect of another project, a three-year contract and progressive growth, something I had never imagined before. This my second life, I never thought of leaving”, he explained in an interview with ‘Corriere dello Sport’. Although he added that next year, “you never know.”
After the defeat in the Europa League final against Sevilla in Budapest, the second European final followed by ‘Loba’, rumors of a possible departure of Mourinho flew in Rome. The Setubalense coach, although there were several days of suspense, dispelled any doubts in the last game of the season with a clear gesture of continuity in the stands, something he repeated again but in the form of statements.
“In the summer I received two offers from Saudi Arabia, from Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. I thought about it and before going to the meeting with both entities I informed Rome, making it clear that I have no intention of accept it. At home I said exactly what myself. On the one hand, I felt imprisoned by my promise to the players in Budapest and to the fans in the last game. But I haven’t left alone for that reason”, he revealed.
“I signed for Roma because when I met the Friedkins I really liked the way they spoke. Their words touched me so much, I needed something like this: ‘We believe you are the right person to help us make Roma a bigger club’, they said to me,” he added.
In addition, he compared the case of Arabia where he lived a few years ago with an offer from China: “In the past I rejected the most incredible offer received by a coach when China offered me of the bench of the national team and a club where all the internationals will play. An indecent economic proposal, out of this world and from any place”.
The coach also mentioned the final defeat to Sevilla, “one of the best experiences” of his career “from a human point of view.” “I saw everything: a procession of Romanism, people who must not have eaten properly for several weeks to attend, a solid group of players, the people who work near us in Trigoria (sports city) with no incredible passion, people chasing an absolutely amazing dream and experiencing the sadness of failure,” he said. “We respect the joy of the Sevilla fans, we salute our Spanish teammates, we behave on the field with extraordinary precision and humility,” he said.
He is not comfortable in Italy
Despite the good feeling in Rome and the capital, he again charged against the board for not supporting him after being penalized for confronting the referee at the end of the match and he insisted that in Italy he was “scared” of more punishments and he doesn’t feel “comfortable” longer. “The saddest thing is that the club does not support a situation like this. I will complete the 4-game ban. It will be four games where I feel like a Roma fan,” he confessed.
“In Italy, I felt that I was being attacked, they violated my freedom as a person and my freedom as a soccer player. I am not comfortable here. I am afraid of receiving more punishments, I am afraid of listening to everything I do . heard or read in these two years,” he said.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
