José Mourinho’s return to the Olimpico on Wednesday will bring Roma’s recent European past back into view. The Portuguese coach left the club, but not its supporters: for many in the Curva Sud, he remains “one of us”, the man who restored continental silverware to a city that had waited 60 years.
Roma announced Mourinho’s appointment at 16:10 on 21 May 2021, beginning a spell that rapidly became emotional as well as successful. He delivered the Conference League, giving the Giallorossi a European trophy and securing a permanent place in the club’s modern story.
Quick facts
- Mourinho was unveiled by Roma on 21 May 2021.
- He led the club to the Conference League, ending a 60-year wait for a European title.
- Roma supporters are expected to give him a friendly reception at the Olimpico on Wednesday.
- A Testaccio mural showed Mourinho riding a Vespa and inspired the nickname “Specialone”.
- Fans still point to the Europa League final against Sevilla as a painful missed second European trophy.
The strength of that bond can still be seen on Rome’s walls. Soon after Mourinho’s arrival, street artist Harry Greb painted him on a Vespa in Testaccio, a district closely tied to Roma identity. The idea joined the city’s famous scooter with Mourinho’s “Special One” label, creating “Specialone”.
The Vespa had become a Roman symbol after the 1953 film Roman Holiday, and the image caught on quickly among Giallorossi fans. Lazio supporters later vandalised the mural, forcing Greb to restore it three times before deciding to stop. A newer work marking Francesco Totti’s 50th birthday was also damaged.
“Once you leave something in the street, it belongs to the street and to everyone,” Greb said. The artist was later invited to Roma’s Trigoria training centre, where he gave Mourinho an original version of the work.
Roma also presented Mourinho with a matching Vespa for his birthday, and he rode it around the training ground. Greb recalled approaching cautiously for a handshake before Mourinho smiled and hugged him. “That is how he is with people; he is unique,” the artist said, having produced three further pieces featuring the coach.
A bond beyond results
Tonino Cagnucci, director of the Roma-focused Il Romanista newspaper and radio operation, believes Mourinho immediately fitted the club’s temperament. He avoided calling him an emperor, but said the feeling among supporters was close to it.
“It was love at first sight,” Cagnucci said. “He had every quality of a true Romanista, and the Olimpico shook whenever his name was read out.”
Mourinho’s spell was not free of division. His confrontations with the media created supporters and critics, while his European achievements were often weighed against a Serie A record that did not reach the same level.
Yet Cagnucci’s verdict remains emphatic. As both a journalist and fan, he considers Mourinho Roma’s greatest coach after Nils Liedholm, citing the intensity, attachment to the club and the trophies.
For Alessio, a Roma-supporting taxi driver and Curva Sud regular, the initial reaction was complicated because Mourinho had previously managed Inter. “His personality won us over,” he said. “And we nearly had two European titles; nobody has forgotten what happened in the Europa League final with Sevilla.”
Alessio sees a resemblance in the reception given to Gian Piero Gasperini, whose long Atalanta association had also created unease among some Roma followers. Results, he said, have helped change that mood.
The feeling around Mourinho’s departure remains particularly raw. Cagnucci believes many supporters regarded his dismissal as a betrayal, especially because he was not allowed a public farewell in Rome. Wednesday’s welcome, therefore, is expected to be one of recognition rather than resentment.
For the coach who brought European glory back to the red-and-yellow half of the capital, the Olimpico will not simply be another away ground. Mourinho may have left Roma, but among many of its supporters, he never stopped belonging there.
