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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

Paulo Fonseca praises Jose Mourinho as the Special One overshadows AS Roma vs Manchester United

AS Roma coach Paulo Fonseca has backed Jose Mourinho to do a "great job" at the club when the former Tottenham boss takes over from him this summer.

Mourinho took just 15 days to find a new job after being sacked by Spurs, with the Special One appointed as Roma's new head coach for the 2021/22 season.

It sees a return to Italy for Mourinho following a triumphant spell with Inter Milan over a decade ago where he won the treble, including the Champions League.

Fonseca, who will make way for Mourinho, could still leave on a high - but his team will need something special to reach the Europa League final as they bid to overturn a 6-2 semi-final first-leg defeat to Manchester United.

The news of Mourinho's impending arrival has lifted the club as they sit seventh in Serie A, and Fonseca believes the Portuguese will be a success in the Italian capital.

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

"For me, professionalism is something I believe is very important," the outgoing Giallorossi boss said on Wednesday.

"I am OK, I am focused on things here just like I was the very first day I got here.

"I am motivated. I want to do the best I can for Roma for as long as I am still here.

"Mourinho is a great coach, everyone knows that, and I am sure he will do a great job here."

Fonseca is realistic about the difficult task facing Roma on Thursday night, but has told his players to target a win first and build something from that spark of hope.

"Clearly it is not easy to beat Manchester United by four goals - but I have seen a lot of things happen in football," he added.

"Nothing is impossible. I believe that anything can happen.

Getty Images

"I'm expecting a tough game. Going up against Manchester United is always very difficult.

"They have a good first-leg advantage but we want to win the game. We want to fight until the very end."

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