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Robson Sharuko
Editor
JUST five months ago Jose Mourinho and his former assistant, Baltemar Brito, were a bunch of high-flying coaches enjoying the comforts of their jobs.
They were in such a beautiful comfort zone that Mourinho could even afford to propose that Brito should consider making the giant leap to coach the Warriors.
Brito was then riding high at Highlanders.
“Hello everyone at Highlanders. I’m sending you a message because Mr Brito is my brother,” said Mourinho in a short video.
“We fought together for many years. We won many trophies together.
“He will always be my brother and I’m so happy that he is doing a great job with you guys at Highlanders.
“You are on top of the league.
“Hopefully, you Highlanders can also have an impact and help the future of the Zimbabwe national team.
“So, all the best for you guys and three more points.”
Everything was looking good – Brito was unbeaten in the league with Bosso and Mourinho had just started a fresh campaign with Italian giants AS Roma.
In his two previous seasons with Roma, Mourinho had won the Europa Conference League and lost in the final in the Europa Cup.
Then, Brito took Highlanders to Mandava, for a date with champions FC Platinum, and everything changed.
Bosso crashed to a 0-2 loss, their first defeat in 20 games.
And in the next 14 games, they lost six, including an embarrassing 0-3 home defeat to Simba Bhora, in a horror ending to their campaign.
Brito got his job with the Warriors, as Mourinho had wanted, but by the end of the year he was out of that job too with just two points, from two World Cup qualifiers, to show for it.
Yesterday, Mourinho followed Brito into the world of the jobless when he was sacked by AS Roma.
With the club struggling badly in Serie A, when they have slipped into ninth place, the owners said they had no option but to sack the Portuguese coach.
It ends the romance between the 60-year-old Mourinho, who took over in May 2021, and Roma.
Club owners, Dan and Ryan Friedkin, thanked Mourinho “for the passion and commitment he has shown” as boss of one of the heavyweights of Italian football.
“We will always have great memories of his stewardship, but we believe that, in the best interests of the club, immediate change is necessary,” they added in a statement.
The results have gone badly for Mourinho in recent weeks and on Wednesday his team fell to a derby defeat to Lazio in a Copa Italia showdown.
They then were beaten 1-3 by AC Milan in the league on Sunday.
Roma have won just once in their last five games, a Coppa Italia win over Cremonese.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter