ROMA manager Jose Mourinho somehow brought his old rival Pep Guardiola into the discussion while criticising his players’ attitude in the 1-1 UEFA Europa League draw at Servette last night.
The result in Switzerland, coupled with Slavia Prague’s 3-2 over FC Sheriff means last season’s losing finalists Roma will likely finish second in their group and go to the playoffs against a third-placed team from the Champions League.
Mourinho accused his players of taking a ‘superficial approach’ to the fixture after
Romelu Lukaku’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Chris Bedia after the break in Geneva.
Roma are in second place, two points behind leaders Slavia Prague.
“It seems that some people who don’t have much European experience play these games somewhat superficially,” said Mourinho during his post-match press conference.
“I really don’t understand. I’ve played 150 matches in the Champions League that are much more important than this and my motivation for these matches is sky-high.
“It’s always the same lads who stay focused for 90 minutes and I don’t need to name them. Then there are people who have a bit of a superficial approach in this type of game.”
For Roma to finish ahead of Slavia Prague and proceed straight to the round of 16, the Italian side must beat Sheriff Tiraspol in their final group game and hope Slavia Prague fail to beat Servette.
Mourinho insisted that being in the play-offs would not be a ‘disaster’ and said he could not afford to drop erring players unlike Guardiola, a thinly-veiled reference to the vast resources available to the Spaniard.
“I’m not going to make a drama out of this second place. I think it’s more of a drama that some people wasted an opportunity by playing with the same attitude we keep seeing, especially at the start of the second half when we’re in the lead,” the former Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Tottenham manager added.
“There’s nothing to pay. [Manchester City boss Pep] Guardiola can make people pay for these things. If he’s not happy with someone, he says goodbye and brings in another. It’s not a problem. We don’t have that option here. Here we have a coach who has to keep hammering it in, working day after day trying to get the best out of these players.
“I’ll say it again: we have a fantastic squad, good people, professional people who love Roma and want to do well. This is more about the DNA, about your comfort zone.”
Mourinho and Guardiola were bitter rivals in Spain when they handled the country’s biggest clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively from 2009 to 2012, and they also went head-to-head as managers of Manchester United and Manchester City from 2016 to 2018.
