Squad value difference: 350 million euros
It’s been about six months since AS Roma embarrassed themselves to the core at the Norwegian surprise team FK Bodø/Glimt in the group stage of the Europa Conference League. The 1:6 (1:2) north of the Arctic Circle was the heaviest defeat in José Mourinho’s career – but the coach and his team apparently didn’t learn from it. When they met again in the quarter-finals, the Serie A club had to admit defeat again and ultimately blamed the 2-1 defeat on the artificial turf in the Aspmyra stadium.
“Playing a quarter-final on a pitch like that is unimaginable. I hope they will do something, because such places lead to serious injuries,” complained Nicola Zalewski (20; quoted via Gianluca Di Marzio). Lorenzo Pellegrini (25) added: “It’s a shame to play on fields where the ball bounces as it wants.”
In addition to all the frustration about the renewed defeat against Bodø/Glimt, which with 15.65 million euros is only a fraction of the squad value of Roma (369.35 million euros), the criticism of the underground was also due to the knee injury suffered by Gianluca Mancini (25) confirmed. “It’s a problem caused by playing on an artificial turf,” said Mourinho after the final whistle, without giving a precise diagnosis of the centre-back’s downtime.
FC Bayern between Chelsea and Real: The most valuable squads in the world
AS Roma: Mourinho optimistic for second leg vs. Bodø/Glimt – “Feel like favourite”
Despite another defeat, the Portuguese is optimistic about the second leg in a week’s time at his home Olimpico di Roma: “We lost 2-1, but we still have the second leg in front of our fans. I’m not afraid to say: I feel like a favorite for the semifinals. Of course we’re playing against a strong team, but I have full confidence in the players, the stadium and the fans.”
For Mourinho, the prerequisite for progress is a better performance by the referees. “I also trust in a good referee with a good assistant. Even when we played for the first time in Rome, the referee didn’t see two very clear penalties for us, today he gave a ridiculous offside,” said the 59-year-old.
To home page