Roma Announce Daniele De Rossi As Permanent Boss After Good ...

ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 05: Daniele De Rossi, Head Coach of AS Roma, looks on prior to the Serie A ... [+] TIM match between AS Roma and Cagliari - Serie A TIM at Stadio Olimpico on February 05, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

As Roma have announced that caretaker manager Daniele De Rossi has been handed the job on a permanent basis.

De Rossi was handed the job in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s sacking just over three months ago, and the Roma icon has exceeded all expectations in the job. Mourinho was relived of his duties in the wake of successive defeats to Lazio and Milan, an ignominious end for a coach who had brought back the passion, belief and love for the team. The Stadio Olimpico was sold out countless times over due the Mourinho Effect, and he delivered the club’s first European trophy, and a trophy of any kind since 2008.

Yet the ugly side that comes with hiring Mourinho can only be tolerated if results are positive. The constant barraging of referees and the negative, reactive style of play can only be watched if trophies are being won and progress is being made. But as with his career, there comes a tipping point when it stops working. The bad brand of football remains but without the results, and end shortly follows.

De Rossi came in and has promptly restored order. He’s only lost once in the league since replacing Mourinho, and that arrived in only his fourth game in charge and against champions-in-waiting Inter. Moreover, he’s given his players a sense of freedom they didn’t have in the Mourinho era. The 4-0 demolition of Brighton in the Europa League is the kind of result that wouldn’t have happened under the Portuguese.

De Rossi has renewed confidence in certain players: Lorenzo Pellegrini, Stephan El Shaarawy, Leonardo Spinazzola and Leandro Paredes all appear to be new players compared to three months ago. While De Rossi has shifted formations, away from Mourinho’s functional-but-dour 3-5-2 system in favour of a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

In all competitions, De Rossi has secured 11 victories, three draws and only two defeats and going into the second leg of the Europa League quarter final, Roma hold a 1-0 lead against Milan in the all-Italian tie. Victory in San Siro would guarantee a fourth European semi final in six years. Moreover, with Italy almost certainly set to earn a fifth Champions League spot next season due to the performance of their sides in all three European competitions this campaign, De Rossi is on course to guide Roma into the continent’s premiere competition for the first time in five years within a matter of months, something that eluded Mourinho and his predecessor Paulo Fonseca, with the club in fifth place but only four points behind Bologna in fourth.

Guiding Roma into the new-and-expanded Champions League will see the Giallorossi earn more money, an estimated $53 million without a ball being kicked according to Calcio e Finanza, and this will help the club sign better players in the summer.

One of the biggest issues that has won the Friedkin’s over is De Rossi decorum on the side line. Fiery as a combative midfielder on the pitch, De Rossi is mostly calm off it, and doesn’t antagonise opposition players, coaches and even officials in the manner that Mourinho did. Roma’s owners got tired of the textbook Mourinho ‘us against the world’ shtick that always has a shelf life. He embroiled the club in one too many controversies. De Rossi, by contrast, has won everyone over with his class in the space of three months.

“After meeting yesterday afternoon with Daniele De Rossi, we are delighted to announce he will continue as Head Coach of AS Roma after this season and for the foreseeable future,” stated Roma on their official social medias channels.

It’s still early in his coaching career, but De Rossi has surpassed all expectations so far, and his future is bright.