When finding themselves on the wrong end of a humiliating defeat, it is not uncommon for embattled managers to shoulder the blame themselves, turning prying eyes away from their red-faced players and onto the coaching staff.
Not Jose Mourinho.
With the dust settling on Roma’s 6-1 hammering at the hands of Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League group-stage – the first time Mourinho has ever conceded six goals in a single game – a second-string Giallorossi side trudged of the Aspmyra Stadium turf and straight under the wheels of a nearby bus.
“They are better players than my players. They are a better team than my team. The 6-1 could be five, could be seven, could be eight. The game went in a direction where you lose complete control of emotions, of everything,” Mourinho said, via The Mail, after a third defeat in five games for his Roma side.
“The reality of the game is that the best team won with the best players.
“The only thing I can say is that I tried to do it with good intentions, to rest my players for the next game, but we were punished by that. They are better than us.”
What next for Tottenham target Ebrima Darboe?
Mourinho’s comments do not exactly stand up to scrutiny.
Portuguese centurion Rui Patricio started in goal on Thursday night while Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Roger Ibanez, Amadou Diawara, former Barcelona winger Carles Perez and £23 million-rated centre-back Marash Kumbulla also featured during their Arctic Circle massacre.
Ebrima Darboe, meanwhile, exploded onto the scene during Paulo Fonseca’s final few weeks at the Stadio Olimpico and, via Tuttomercatoweb, was linked with a move to Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week.
Hauled off at half-time during only his third start of the new campaign, it is fair to say Darboe did little to boost his first-team prospects under Mourinho during what will go down as one of the most humiliating defeats in Roma’s European history.
We suspect it may be some time before Darboe is trusted to start again.
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