Roma face an unusual week at the Olimpico, where the competitive demands of the season will be framed by two returns that reach well beyond the touchline. José Mourinho is due back tomorrow with Real Madrid, before Daniele De Rossi arrives on Saturday as Genoa coach, putting two recent figures of the club’s story in the opposing dugout within three days.
Two returns, one Roman stage
The timing carries its own symbolism. Mourinho and De Rossi were linked by the decision taken on 16 January 2024, when Roma dismissed the Portuguese coach and handed the side to one of their greatest former players. Now they return separately, each representing a different period of emotion, expectation and eventual separation.
- Mourinho’s spell lasted 929 days, beginning with around 2,000 Roma supporters greeting him between Ciampino and Trigoria.
- His departure was marked by a final farewell outside the Fulvio Bernardini training ground, where 200 fans waited for him.
- De Rossi then took over and spent 246 days in charge, guiding Roma through a European semi-final and securing Europa League qualification late in the campaign.
- After a difficult start to the following season, Roma’s board ended De Rossi’s tenure and appointed Ivan Juric.
- This week, Mourinho returns first with Real Madrid, followed by De Rossi and Genoa on Saturday.
Mourinho’s unfinished bond
Mourinho’s return is likely to bring a response shaped by the European identity he helped restore around the club. His tenure included the Conference League triumph, a Europa League final defeat surrounded by controversy, and 45 sell-outs at the Olimpico. Those nights helped revive a stadium that had endured years of frustration and gave the team a stronger connection with its public.
The Portuguese coach has admitted that the occasion will test him personally. “I have to protect myself emotionally; it will be difficult,” he said. Asked what he expects from the evening, Mourinho replied: “Only respect. I gave everything for Roma.”
For many supporters, that relationship has not been erased by his dismissal. The battles, the European evenings and the sense of collective purpose remain part of his Roman record.
De Rossi returns as an opponent
De Rossi’s case is different, but no less personal. A lifelong Roman and former captain, he returned as coach with the weight of an entire club’s affection behind him. His months in charge brought a European semi-final and a place in the Europa League, before the project was interrupted by the board after the troubled opening to the next campaign.
His arrival with Genoa will therefore carry memories of what might have developed had Roma persisted longer. Yet the attachment is deeper than a coaching spell: De Rossi remains one of the defining figures of Roma’s modern history, even when he stands on the other side of the technical area.
The points still matter
There will be room for applause, songs and recognition at the Olimpico, but Roma cannot allow sentiment to obscure the demands of the fixture list. Mourinho and De Rossi may be welcomed as familiar figures, but both will arrive as opponents.
That is the tension of the week: two men who gave the club important chapters return to a stadium that still remembers them warmly, while Roma must keep its attention on the result. The reunion comes first; then the match takes over.
