Italian papers left reeling at Roma’s ‘historic FLOP’ against Bodo/Glimt in ‘disaster’ 6-1 defeat… as Norwegian press hail ‘the special ones’ following thrashing of Jose Mourinho’s side
Roma’s 6-1 ‘disaster’ at the hands of Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt has been described as a ‘historic flop’ by the Italian papers.
A feeling of shock reverberated around Italy as fans saw Jose Mourinho’s side ripped apart in the UEFA Conference League group stage match.
Corrieire dello Sport likened it to a ‘nightmare’ in the nation’s capital, while Tuttosport simply called it a ‘disaster’ from start to finish.
Roma found themselves humiliated away in Norway to Bodo/Glimt in the Conference League
Italian papers labelled it a ‘disaster’ (right) as well as a ‘nightmare’ (left) on Friday’s front pages
Things continued to go from bad to worse as Mourinho’s iconic ‘Special One’ nickname was used by Norwegian paper Verdens Gang.
Their cover for Friday showed a Bodo/Glimt celebration with the headline as ‘The Special Ones’.
Mourinho made nine changes for the midweek encounter and paid a heavy price as his B-team stars were blown away spectacularly.
A four-goal blitz in the second half made it one of the most memorable nights in the club’s history.
Norwegian paper Verdens Gang took advantage of Jose Mourinho’s ‘Special One’ nickname
Erik Botheim (left) scored a brace – with a goal in each half – to inspire his side to the thrashing
Bodo had gone 2-0 up in the first half before Carles Perez pulled one back – but Roma, who had fielded a B team in Norway, were swept aside in stunning fashion for Mourinho’s biggest ever defeat as manager.
‘The responsibility is mine,’ Mourinho said.
‘I lined up players who played less, I decided to make these changes and rest many players.
‘I did it with good intentions, to give an opportunity to those who work hard and to rotate the squad on a synthetic pitch in cold weather.
‘I never disguised the fact we were a squad with real limitations. We have 13 players who represent one team, the others are on a different level.
‘We lost to a team that has more quality than us. Bodo has more quality than our starters tonight. It’s that simple.’
Mourinho was furious with his players but said the responsibility for the defeat was his
Lorenzo Pellegrini – Roma’s captain who came on in the 60th minute of the game – apologised to supporters and said the team were given a ‘slap in the face’, vowing to learn from the humbling defeat.
‘There’s little I can say, I can only apologise and get back on track stronger than before. We said what we needed to in the locker room and it remains there,’ he told Sky Sport Italia.
‘Sometimes you need a slap to learn and we got a slap in the face today, one we fully deserved. We’ve got to make sure that we learn from this embarrassment and keep that attitude for the rest of the season.’
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