Quite fittingly, it took Daniele De Rossi just 16 matches to convince the Friedkins that he was the right choice to be Roma’s long-term head coach.
Arriving in January on a contract for just six months, De Rossi quickly settled back in at his beloved club and it wasn’t long before he was being spoken about as a realistic candidate for the permanent job.
De Rossi has now earned it a month before the end of the season, with his long-term status set to be clarified in the coming days after the Friedkins confirmed he would remain in charge beyond the current campaign.
Here are six of the best matches under De Rossi so far that will have gone some way to convincing the club to keep him.
Roma 4-0 Cagliari
After getting up and running with consecutive 2-1 wins over Hellas Verona and Salernitana, De Rossi downed his own former boss Claudio Ranieri with his first major scoreline against Cagliari on 5th February.
Lorenzo Pellegrini put Roma ahead within two minutes and next set up the first of Paulo Dybala’s two goals as the Giallorossi raced away with it.
Dean Huijsen finally headed in his first goal for Roma to cap off a confidence-boosting evening.
Roma 1-1 Feyenoord
In both of Jose Mourinho’s full seasons in charge of Roma, there was animosity when facing Feyenoord in Europe. Roma had beaten their Dutch rivals in the 2022 Europa Conference League final and then the 2023 Europa League knockout stage, but there were some fears about how they would do this time around with someone who had never managed a European game before.
In a sign of their strong mentality, Roma once again emerged victorious over Arne Slot’s side. This time, it required a penalty shootout after both fixtures ended 1-1. It was the second of those games that is being highlighted here, thanks to the sheer weight of emotions that were unleashed after Nicola Zalewski’s winning penalty.
Stadio Olimpico remained a fortress and, just like in his playing career, De Rossi could do it on the European stage too.
Monza 1-4 Roma
Earlier in the season, Mourinho’s Roma required a 90th minute goal to beat Monza 1-0. In the reverse fixture, De Rossi’s men were much more dominant.
Goals flew in from Pellegrini, Romelu Lukaku – for only the second time in Serie A under De Rossi – Dybala and Leandro Paredes, before a late consolation for the hosts.
It was a standout result in the race for a top-four finish in a weekend during which Lazio and Atalanta both dropped points.
Roma 4-0 Brighton
Whereas the progress against Feyenoord had been tense, Roma made a major statement of intent in the next round of the Europa League against Brighton.
Their first ever clash with the English side saw De Rossi up against compatriot Roberto De Zerbi, and the Roma boss outwitted his close friend.
Five days after the win over Monza, Roma scored four again. Dybala and Lukaku were on the scoresheet again, this time joined by Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante.
Roma lost the return leg in England, but only by one goal, so advanced to the quarter-finals on aggregate.
Roma 1-0 Lazio
The last derby under Mourinho was one of the final nails in the coffin for the Portuguese tactician, since Roma barely threatened as they exited the Coppa Italia.
Fortunately, De Rossi helped Roma restore some pride upon their next meeting in the league, which was won by a Mancini goal.
It had been around two years since Roma had even last scored in a derby, but De Rossi helped them put things right.
Milan 0-1 Roma
Five days later, it was time for Roma’s next Europa League match. Unusually, they were up against another Italian side in the shape of AC Milan – the team who had beaten the Giallorossi in Mourinho’s final match.
Putting on a professional display, De Rossi’s Roma earned a first-leg advantage thanks to – yet again – a goal by Mancini.
Frustrating the hosts, Roma took a crucial lead back with them for the second leg, on the morning of which the Friedkins announced they were sticking with De Rossi for the foreseeable future.
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