How De Rossi went from Mourinho’s replacement to Roma exit in 9 months | OneFootball

Despite picking up eight wins from his first 10 matches in charge of Roma, club legend Daniele De Rossi has been dismissed from his position as head coach of the Giallorossi, just four matches into the 2024-25 campaign. Here’s where it all went wrong.

Life under Mourinho before De Rossi

De Rossi could not have got off to a better start on his Stadio Olimpico return. Roma had been faltering under Jose Mourinho in the months leading up to January 2024, and it proved the right call to let the Special One go.

Roma had not won in any of their five matches leading up to Mourinho’s departure, including cup losses to now-relegated Cremonese and rivals Lazio. The 3-1 loss away to Milan on January 14 was the final straw.

De Rossi was elected as the successor shortly after Mourinho’s dismissal.

A perfect homecoming

De Rossi came back to Roma and set off with three wins from three for a nine point maximum. There were eight goals scored across those fixtures as well, thanks to 2-1 wins over Hellas Verona and Salernitana, plus a 4-0 thrashing of Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico.

Inter, the champions elect, dealt somewhat of a reality check four games in, beating Roma 4-2 in the capital on their way to the Scudetto. A 1-1 draw away at Feyenoord in the Europa League followed a few days afterwards.

From there, De Rossi picked up five wins on the spin, over Frosinone, Feyenoord, Torino and a 4-0 thumping of Brighton at the Olimpico to make it eight wins, one draw and one loss from his first 10 matches in charge.

Results begin to turn

Though the Giallorossi went on to beat Milan over two legs in the Europa League final, they were eventually trumped by then-unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the semis. More concerningly, though, was a slight downturn in league form by the end of the 2023-24 season.

De Rossi was never quite able to get three points against teams who finished the season towards the top of the table.

They lost 3-1 to Bologna, drew 2-2 with a dysfunctional Napoli, ended at 1-1 with Juventus, lost 2-1 to Atalanta and then finished the campaign with a 2-1 loss away to Empoli, in a game that kept the opponents safe from relegation in dramatic style.

Despite a summer of statement signings, spending heavily on the likes of Artem Dovbyk, Matias Soule, Manu Koné and Enzo Le Fée, Roma’s poor run of form continued into the 2024-25 season.

Roma have not won yet this term, following draws with Cagliari, Juventus and Genoa, as well as another 2-1 loss away at Empoli.

Four games into the season, Roma have decided that they have seen enough, and called it a day on De Rossi’s tenure with just three points, two goals scored and the team dwindling in 16th place, two points off the bottom.

By the end, De Rossi had picked up just one victory from his last 11 competitive matches.

Former Torino coach Ivan Juric is set to replace De Rossi on a short-term contract until the end of the season with a possible option to extend.