Former Roma goal-keeper Julio Sergio was asked to analyze the Giallorossi’s complicated first half of the season in a recent interview with Tuttomercatoweb.
“I didn’t expect them to struggle so much, but sometimes you must be patient in football. Nobody expected a trophy in Mourinho’s first year, then many new players arrived… It’s not easy.”
“Roma is a difficult setting, it will take another year to sort things out in view of next season, when we will be able to see the Rome we all want, namely the one fighting for the Scudetto.”
“I like what Mourinho is doing, but he has his own way of coaching, his own way of playing. Wherever he went he won, we can’t argue about this because there are figures that prove it. He has the right personality to work in the Roman environment, which is an important thing, and so I think it was the right choice by the club and this is demonstrated by the Conference League they won.”
“Let’s hope he can still have time to sort things out and take the Giallorossi even higher,” Sergio added.
“Italian football is one of the most difficult in the world. Tactically, there are teams, even small ones, that always put you in difficulty. Roma haven’t been able to build consistency in their results, but that’s to be expected.”
“Again, it takes time to get things done and there are so many examples I can cite. Klopp didn’t win anything and then lifted the Champions League, Ferguson didn’t win at Manchester United right away and then went on to reach all of his achievements.”
“It takes time to transform a team of great players, strong individually, into a proper football team. There is a need for training, to fix many things even off the pitch. It’s all natural, Roma is turning into a winning team, also thanks to the mentality brought by the new ownership, which has done everything to allow Roma not only to win the Scudetto, but also to reach the Champions League every year. You must be patient when you want to build something solid over time.”
“Mourinho knows how to shake things up, maybe he can do it quickly, maybe he’ll need a little more time. This depends on the players he will have available and also on the opponents. If Roma take the right path in the first two or three games after the break, they will certainly play a beautiful season finale.”
