Rome loves Jose Mourinho for what he has done for AS Roma since taking over the club in 2021, and it’s not just football fans who adore him.
Before the postponed Euro 2020 in 2021, he unexpectedly assumed the managerial role of the Italian capital club and quickly won the city over.
In his debut season, he assisted Roma in ending their 14-year title drought since the 2008 Coppa Italia by helping them win the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League, which they did by defeating Feyenoord of the Netherlands in the final.
Giallorossi reached their second European final under the former Chelsea manager after beating Bayer Leverkusen to reach the Europa League final.
Mourinho receives standing ovation
Mourinho is not only loved by the football fans in Rome; he is also loved by non-football fans in the ancient city, due to his achievements in Italian football.
He was in attendance at the Italian Open final on Sunday to watch Daniil Medvedev beat Holger Rune, and was acknowledged by the fans, who gave him a standing ovation.
The former Real Madrid boss was in the company of his former player Marco Materazzi at the event, and was also in attendance a week earlier to watch Serbian star Novak Djokovic in the second round.
According to Daily Express, former world number 1 Boris Becker was also in attendance, five months after he was deported to Germany after time in UK custody.
Roma players relive Leverkusen game
Sports Brief reported that Mourinho relieved the Leverkusen game with his players at a dinner, after Roma progressed to the UEFA Europa League final on Thursday.
The Special one filmed his players having a meal and watching themselves. He uploaded the video to Instagram and labelled the players ‘warriors’ after a hard-fought game.