For once, Mourinho is the one admitting to nerves.
“Roma in Rome, that is my first time back there. Of course, it’s going to be emotional, but only before and after the match, during it I’ve got blinkers,” he told Sky Sport Italia after Real Madrid beat Inter 2-1 in their Champions League opener on September 8.
That trip is now ten days away. Real Madrid are the matchday-two visitors at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, October 14, kick-off at 9pm local time, as laid out on UEFA’s league phase fixture list.
A homecoming he did not choose
Mourinho’s Roma chapter ended abruptly. The club sacked him on January 16, 2024, two days after a 3-1 defeat at AC Milan left the Giallorossi ninth in Serie A, and handed the dugout to club legend Daniele De Rossi. The decision stunned the city.
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What he left behind, though, was a trophy nobody there had tasted in a generation. In 2022 he guided Roma to the inaugural UEFA Conference League, the club’s first European title. He also took them to a Europa League final a year later. Rome adopted him as one of its own, and he has not pretended otherwise.
“For me, Rome was the best place of my career,” he said before the draw was made. “I’ve never felt such an incredible environment around a football team.”
Back at Madrid in a storm
The reunion arrives at the worst possible moment for Mourinho. Real Madrid appointed him on June 11 on a three-year contract through 2029, 13 years after his first stint and in direct succession to Carlo Ancelotti, who left to coach Brazil.
Seven matchdays into the La Liga season, the restoration project is already crackling. Real Madrid sit fourth, six points adrift of Barcelona after a 2-1 defeat in the Madrid derby that prompted Mourinho to open fire on the referees and provoke LaLiga president Javier Tebas in return.
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“I thought I was going to find a different league, but it turns out I haven’t,” he said after that defeat.
His own line about why Florentino Pérez called him in the first place is becoming prophetic.
“If it’s easy, it’s not for me. If it’s difficult, you call Jose.”
Gasperini has Roma top of Serie A
The hosts have their own narrative. Gian Piero Gasperini, appointed in June 2025 as Claudio Ranieri’s successor, has Roma back in the Champions League after a seven-year absence, won four of their last five across all competitions, and sits atop Serie A.
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The crowd will be waiting for Mourinho from the moment the Real Madrid bus arrives at the Olimpico. He has already said it himself.
“Because I have done nothing for them. Of course I’m emotional, of course pleased, of course grateful. Of course it puts more responsibility on me to not let people with that passion down.”
Kick-off is at 9pm local time on Wednesday, October 14, at the Stadio Olimpico.
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