Former AS Roma defender Davide Santon has said that current Giallorossi boss Jose Mourinho makes the players in his squad love him.
Santon started his career at Inter in 2008 and his time at the club, running until his 2011 move to Newcastle United, coincided with when Mourinho was the Nerazzurri boss. It was a good time to be under the guidance of the Portuguese given it was when Inter won the triplete.
Mourinho guided Inter to success in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the Champions League in the 2009/10 season. They also won the FIFA Club World Cup in the same calendar year.
Speaking during an interview with Tuttosport, Santon spoke about the role that Mourinho played in the early stages of his career.
“Mourinho was the one who launched me. I’m sorry I wasn’t part of the Roma squad under him, but there were corporate choices made, which I understand and they didn’t include me. With words, Mourinho is always number one,” he said.
He also talked about how Mourinho makes his players feel: “The players love him, Mourinho makes them love him. Even though he has won so much he still has a hunger and passion for what he does. He can still win, I think his dream is the Scudetto with the Giallorossi.”
High expectations for Mourinho at AS Roma
As he gets stuck into his second season in charge at Roma, Mourinho now has a certain amount of expectation hanging over him that wasn’t there last season.
The arrival of Paulo Dybala, Zeki Celik, Nemanja Matic, Andrea Belotti and (although injured) Georginio Wijnaldum means that Roma need to be qualifying for the Champions League this season. Many feel a title challenge is not too far beyond the Giallorossi too.
The lack of consistency from almost every supposed title challenger in Serie A this season makes it hard to know how well Mourinho’s side are performing in relation to others. They have got 13 points from their first seven games which leaves them four points off of Napoli and Atalanta at the top.
The 4-0 defeat against Udinese is certainly the low point but a reaction away at Inter on Saturday would do Roma and Mourinho the world of good.
