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It sure is an interesting decision, especially considering the contract was coming to an end. Perhaps they simply view De Rossi as the long term replacement so there was no reason to wait considering they will NOT be reaching their goal of top 4.

The Roma fans continue to absolutely adore Mourinho. There were no signs of hostility between him and the club. I suspect the club just felt they "had to" do something after a disappointing string of results which saw them get eliminated by rivals Lazio in Coppa Italia, and has them 9th in the standings. I would have bet they kept him on to see if he could produce another run in the Europa League, but I guess not. End of the day, their best player is Dybala who cannot stay healthy, and they don't have much depth. With the rise in form of Fiorentina and Bologna, Roma owner decided to try something

I now almost find myself feeling bad for De Rossi because improving this team seems an impossible task

I agree, seems like a penny wise pound poor decision unless the next coach is Conte. Roma just got Lukaku last summer too and largely that was due to his prior relationship with Mourinho.

Will be interesting to see if Mou goes to Saudi next, because he'll be the 1st elite manager they drew.

Also fun to see the Roma pundits have the reaction I expected Chelsea's to have when sacking Tuchel:
https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/ex-roma-coach-capello-slams-friedkins-no-respect-mourinho-treatment-unacceptable-4482853
https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/branca-slams-roma-for-mourinho-sacking-these-owners-are-ignorant-4483023
https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/roma-fans-purchase-huge-friedkin-poster-at-training-hq-with-caption-friedkinout-4483060

Capello's defense is pretty interesting because he's been a lifetime critic of Mou despite sharing clubs like Madrid and Roma.
On longer reflection, though Spurs definitely found their feet after sacking Mou I think Utd/Spurs/Roma had measurably weaker owners than the previous clubs Mou worked at including Porto. Just like Ange was sourced from Australia I could see the next gen of wc managers coming up outside Europe because of bad club management in the region.

Inter won the Supercoppa over Napoli with a stoppage time goal from Lautaro. Controversial referee decision saw Simeone sent off early in the 2nd half.
It was the first season that the cup was done in a final four structure...a definite cash grab, in Saudi Arabia...total waste of time.

Juve jump to first place in the meantime,

Inter look scary right now. I actually think they are a legit shout for the UCL but i hope they bottle the scudetto

Triple M wrote:Inter look scary right now. I actually think they are a legit shout for the UCL but i hope they bottle the scudetto

I agree with all of that

An early Milik red card leads to a Juventus draw vs Empoli

Lautaro scores for Inter to beat Fiorentina 1-0...la viola missed a PK.

Could be the start of Inter running away with this

I don't think so, but it would be a huge loss for Europe since it's one of the few truly competitive league fights left at the top. Every other league seems poised for traditional favorites to win it - City, Real, Bayern, PSG - largely for depth advantages or due to huge parity rather than true dominance of the leader.

SgtPepper wrote:I don't think so, but it would be a huge loss for Europe since it's one of the few truly competitive league fights left at the top. Every other league seems poised for traditional favorites to win it - City, Real, Bayern, PSG - largely for depth advantages or due to huge parity rather than true dominance of the leader.

Juve visit Milano tomorrow to face Inter. Huge implications for the scudetto race. Inter with a chance to go up 4 points with a game in hand.

Inter win 1-0 courtesy of an own goal

Juve tied Udinese and Verona since losing to Inter. Chiesa has not been in peak form or fitness, and they just look demoralized now that they've realized they will not be passing this Inter team.

Milan continue to under perform as well, having just lost 4-2 to AC Monza.

Napoli suck. They will have former assistant to Sarri and Spalletti / current Slovakia coach Calzona take over for the rest of the season---first game Wed. vs Barcelona.

Lazio beat Bayern but then lost at home to Bologna who are tied for 4th place with Atalanta.

Atalanta have been dominant lately.

De Rossi off to a decent start with Roma as they look to reinsert themselves in the race for 4th place.

1. Inter - 63
2. Juve - 54
3. Milan - 52
4. Atalanta - 45
5. Bologna - 45
6. Roma - 41
7. Fiorentina - 38
8. Lazio - 37
9. Napoli - 36
10. Torinio - 36

I really hope De Rossi succeeds at Roma. I've always had a soft spot for the Giallorossi and De Rossi was one of my favourite midfielders for a while. He's had a decent start, as you said. The four goals they shipped against an admittedly excellent Inter team aside, they seem to have shown some defensive improvement, which was much needed.

A Dybala hattrick saw Roma beat Torino 3-2 as they continue to do well under De Rossi.

Napoli may be regaining their form...6-1 win away vs Sassuolo, with a Osimhen hattrick and Kvara two goals. They will face Juve this weekend.

Inter demolish Atalanta 4-0 continuing their domination streak.

So Pogba is getting 4 years? That's rough and basically the end of his career.

Foye wrote:So Pogba is getting 4 years? That's rough and basically the end of his career.

yup, very sad. Despite injury problems and a subpar time back at Man U, he still had a lot to give.
I almost feel like the allegations of his brother putting a curse on him are true lol

to make matters even worse, Juve signed him in place of resigning Dybala who was "injured too much to justify paying him the salary he wanted." They gave that salary to Pogba

magik9113 wrote:A Dybala hattrick saw Roma beat Torino 3-2 as they continue to do well under De Rossi.

Second goal was a banger.

Hope he can stay healthy.

magik9113 wrote:

Foye wrote:So Pogba is getting 4 years? That's rough and basically the end of his career.

yup, very sad. Despite injury problems and a subpar time back at Man U, he still had a lot to give.
I almost feel like the allegations of his brother putting a curse on him are true lol

to make matters even worse, Juve signed him in place of resigning Dybala who was "injured too much to justify paying him the salary he wanted." They gave that salary to Pogba

Well, I read he is only getting the minimum compensation of 2000€ since being banned.

Not sure if true, though.

Napoli 2 - 1 Juve

Napoli looking good again just in time for them to take on Barcelona next week.

Juve continue to suck. With Bologna's win today, they remain in 4th place and are now two points behind Juve. Roma can pile on the pressure if they pull out a win without Dybala today vs. Lecce

Scary scenes in the Roma vs. Udinese game today. Match was abandoned at 1-1 after Evan N'Dicka collapsed with heart problems.

Hopefully he's alright.