Roma have had their fair share of calamitous results over the years, but they haven’t always spelled the end for the head coaches who oversaw them.
Here, Giallorossi Yorkshire looks back at eight times in recent memory that Roma conceded five goals or more in a big defeat, but didn’t sack their manager immediately after.
Ivan Juric
Thrown in at the deep end when Roma unexpectedly fired Daniele De Rossi four games into the new season, Juric won his first game in charge but has struggled to instil consistency into the side ever since.
Many expected the breaking point to be in the aftermath of Roma’s 5-1 thrashing by Fiorentina, in just his eighth game in charge, but Juric took training the morning after and would still be in charge in time for the next match against his former club, Torino.
However, Roma’s performances are under the microscope, with Juric only under contract until the end of the season anyway and in a battle to even make it that far. With the way things have been handled in 2024, don’t rule anything out.
Jose Mourinho
One unforgettable result from the Mourinho rollercoaster at Roma was the 6-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League in October 2021.
Mourinho was just a few months into his Roma tenure at the time and was not in any imminent danger of the sack, going on to lift that very trophy by the end of the season.
However, Mourinho was eventually sacked in January 2024 after a disappointing first half of his third season – although his supporters would argue Roma haven’t progressed since.
Paulo Fonseca
Roma were winning at half time in the away leg of their Europa League semi-final against Manchester United in April 2021, before a naive tactical display by Fonseca led to a 6-2 defeat.
Fonseca walked the tightrope several times over his two-year spell in charge of Roma, even just a few months into his reign, but was never actually sacked, instead simply being allowed to leave the club when his contract expired at the end of that season, paving the way for Mourinho to replace him.
Eusebio Di Francesco
In the summer of 2018, a squad that reached the Champions League semi-final was ripped up by Monchi. With the changes that were made, it was only ever going to end one way.
Di Francesco’s second season in charge was a serious struggle, with a new low being reached when Fiorentina knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia in January 2019 with a 7-1 win.
As will be recalled later in this article, Roma had lost by that kind of margin before – but that was usually to European giants. This was even more shocking.
Di Francesco remained in charge, though, until March, when the Roma board sent him packing and Monchi left too amid some heated disagreements. That season started Roma’s ongoing spell of failing to finish in the top four.
Rudi Garcia
Garcia suffered not one, but two huge defeats on Champions League nights for Roma. In October 2014, his side were beaten at home 7-1 by Bayern Munich, and in November 2015, Barcelona beat them 6-1 at Camp Nou.
Yet it was a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the league that spelled the end for Garcia’s reign in January 2016 after an uninspiring and indifferent run of form, with the Frenchman’s novelty having long since worn off.
Claudio Ranieri
Ranieri’s original Roma reign began after the second matchday of the 2009-10 season, but on the second matchday of 2010-11, he was at the helm for a heavy defeat as his side lost 5-1 to Cagliari.
Roma ended up being a long way off mounting the kind of title challenge they had preserved the season before and Ranieri stepped down in February 2011 after his side gave up a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 to Genoa.
Luciano Spalletti
Spalletti is one of Roma’s most successful managers in history, but one of his Roma sides went down in history for their 7-1 loss to Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-final in April 2007.
Roma had actually won the first leg at home but were sent packing six days later. The quarter-final stage would be a stumbling block for Spalletti the following season and ever since.
Nevertheless, Spalletti guided Roma to the Coppa Italia trophy at the end of the 2006-07 season and won it again a year later, before he stood down in September 2009 as the club wrestled with financial issues off the pitch.
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