Former Roma General Manager Tiago Pinto reflected on his three years in the Italian capital and the collaboration with ex-Giallorossi coach Jose Mourinho.
After leaving the club in February, Pinto gave an interview to iNews, describing his experience of working for Roma.
“When I left Roma I thought about it a lot and I felt it was the right time, the end of a cycle. But when I made my decision, everyone close to me said, ‘Knowing you, I doubt you’ll be at peace after two weeks.’ They were probably right…”
“Roma was a great challenge for me, but I like taking risks,” said the Portuguese director.
“Mourinho? Don’t get me wrong, when you work with a man with such a high profile, it’s challenging. And he’s demanding because he’s achieved so much and has high standards. Let’s not forget that I am Portuguese and I started working with him when I was 36, it is impossible for a young sporting director to work normally with Mourinho.”
“I learned a lot from him. He is one of the most important coaches in the history of football. Football is like everything, it has cycles. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you disagree, but no one can minimize the great impact he had at Roma.”
“What really strikes you every day is what it means to people. It doesn’t matter if you are in London, Reykjavik, Dubai or wherever, what José means to people is something extraordinary. And there are coaches who have won as much or even more than him, but it’s difficult to find someone who touches people’s hearts like him.”
“One day we were playing in Sofia, Bulgaria in the Conference League, the match was in November and the weather was terrible. It was snowing, it was very, very cold. We won 3-0 but in the end we won 3-2, it was a very bad match. We won but we were in a bad mood. Everyone wants to take a shower, take a bus and go to the airport.”
“It was snowing, it was midnight and when he came out of the stadium and I was watching him, he had walked 50 meters to the point where there were 100 or 200 people shouting for him. He went there, took photos, gave autographs. I was on the bus watching him and I thought, ‘This man has won 25 titles, he’s pissed off about the game, everyone is frozen and he’s taking 15 minutes to do this thing. It seems like a small detail, but in the end we work for the people.”
“The most special thing about Mourinho is the way he works with people, the reaction he provokes in them.”
