What can Jose Mourinho still achieve at Roma this season?
Jose Mourinho’s appointment as Roma manager 11 months ago created a real buzz in Italy’s capital.
The Portuguese coach, who won a historic treble with Inter Milan, spent no time at all in launching a charm offensive in his new surroundings; from waving a Roma flag out of his car in front of jubilant fans upon his arrival in the city, to racing around in a Vespa scooter and gorging pizza on trains after games.
On the pitch, he enjoyed a superb start to his tenure, in the form of six successive wins in all competitions, and briefly topped the Serie A table.
Fast-forward to April, we've taken a look at what Mourinho can still achieve this term at Roma as his maiden season enters the closing stages...
| League Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | AC Milan | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 86 |
| 2. | Inter | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 84 |
| 3. | Napoli | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 79 |
| 4. | Juventus | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 70 |
| 5. | Lazio | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 64 |
| 6. | Roma | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 63 |
| 7. | Fiorentina | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 62 |
| 8. | Atalanta | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 59 |
| 9. | Verona | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 53 |
| 10. | Torino | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 50 |
| 11. | Sassuolo | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 50 |
| 12. | Udinese | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 47 |
| 13. | Bologna | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 46 |
| 14. | Empoli | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 41 |
| 15. | Sampdoria | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 36 |
| 16. | Spezia | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 36 |
| 17. | Salernitana | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 31 |
| 18. | Cagliari | 38 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 30 |
| 19. | Genoa | 38 | 4 | 16 | 18 | 28 |
| 20. | Venezia | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 27 |
Hopes of a top-four finish
Mourinho was appointed in the hope that he could propel Roma back into the Champions League spaces following 7th and 5th place finishes under Paulo Fonseca.
With just six games to go Roma are 5th in Serie A, five points off Juventus who occupy 4th, while rivals Lazio are two points behind Mourinho’s men in 6th.
Roma, who were down in 8th in February, have surged back into contention for a top-four spot thanks to a cracking 11 game unbeaten run dating back to mid-January. They’ve won five of their last six games, and three in a row, including a 3-0 thumping of Lazio in the Derby Capitolino.
This has fuelled hopes that they can catch Mourinho’s old foes Juventus, who have also been in fine fettle, although a defeat to Inter earlier in April looks to have ended their title chances meaning the focus has shifted to fending-off the likes of Roma, Lazio, and Atalanta.
Roma can still be backed at 33/1 to erase the five-point deficit and leapfrog Juventus into the top-four come the end of the season.
The Giallorossi do, however, have very tricky back-to-back away clashes to title challengers Napoli and Inter Milan up next. This is followed by their remaining four fixtures against Bologna (h), Fiorentina (a), Unione Venezia (h), and Torino (a).
Mourinho himself has typically played down his side's chances of catching Juventus. “No, because Juve are too strong to drop that many points," he said when asked if it was doable. "It’s a fight between fifth and eighth, some thought perhaps Lazio would crumble after the derby, but no they’ve won two in a row, albeit with some fortunate refereeing decisions. It’s one championship between first and fourth, another from fifth to eighth.”
If Roma finish 5th they'll qualify for the Europa League, while 6th spot will send them into the Europa Conference League play-off round...speaking of which...
Serie A Top 4 Odds
Is European glory still on the cards?
Jose Mourinho is still in the mix to add another European gong to his collection.
He is of course already a two-time Champions League and two-time Europa League winner, however this season he’s bidding to win the inaugural Europa Conference League.
Roma finished top of Group C ahead of Bodø/Glimt, despite suffering a shock 6-1 defeat to the Norwegian side who they then drew with back in Italy. Roma edged out French outfit Vitesse in the last-16 which set up a quarter-final tie with Bodø/Glimt, who they lost to again last week in the first-leg (2-1).
As a result Roma’s Europa Conference League hopes hang in the balance, although they are still the odds-on 4/7 favourites to bounce back and progress to the semi-finals.
Roma are priced as the 4/1 second-favourites to go on and win the competition, behind current frontrunners Marseille (3/1), while Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester are also available at 4/1.
Europa Conference League Odds
-
2
1/2 -
-
2
1/2 -
-
Anything else?
Roma were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals by his old side Inter who won 2-0 at the San Siro.
So it's the top-4 and Europa Conference League glory that are still up for grabs for Mourinho this season, with his side priced at 152/1 (Betfair) to achieve both of those goals.