By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
The management of Serie A club, AS Roma, has hired Jose Mourinho two weeks after being fired as manager by Tottenham, a Premiership club in England.
The team announced the move Tuesday, after Mourinho had signed the three-year deal with the club.
At Roma, Mourinho will manage 19-year-old U.S. international, Bryan Reynolds, who completed a move to the Italian capital from FC Dallas this past transfer window. He will also be at home the Manchester United former defender, Chris Smalling.
In a statement, Mourinho credited Roma fans for inspiring him to take the job.
“After meetings with the ownership and Tiago Pinto, I immediately understood the full extent of their ambitions for AS Roma. It is the same ambition and drive that has always motivated me and together we want to build a winning project over the upcoming years.
“The incredible passion of the Roma fans convinced me to accept the job and I cannot wait to start next season.”
Mourinho joins the club after a rocky 17 months with Tottenham.
Mourinho initially signed a four-year deal with Tottenham, but didn’t make it through two years before he was fired. The team underperformed under Mourinho, who eventually lost his players as well. It’s become a predictable trend with the clubs he takes over.
Prior to joining Tottenham, Mourinho was one of the most successful managers in history. Roma mentioned Mourinho’s lengthy track record of winning in their statement on Tuesday.
Mourinho is one of only three managers to date to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs, a feat he has also repeated in the UEFA Europa League.
He is a three-time winner of the Premier League (with Chelsea in 2005, 2006 and 2015), while he has also won top-flight titles in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Whether Mourinho can get back to that level remains to be seen. It will be up to Mourinho to prove his time at Tottenham was an aberration, and that he hasn’t lost his touch.
