Paulo Dybala was part of Argentina’s national team which won the Qatar 2022 World Cup led by Lionel Messi. In fact, the forward from AS Roma had a crucial role in the final against France as he converted a penalty kick.
Now, during an interview with TyC Sports, Dybala revealed one of the most surprising moments for him that day at Lusail Stadium. Just a few minutes after the game, the star went to pass a doping control and, when he arrived to the locker room, there was a massive surprise on his cell phone.
It turns out that Paulo Dybala already had five calls from his coach in Italy, Jose Mourinho. That’s why, he was the first person Paulo called after winning the World Cup. “When the match ended, we were in the doping control and I didn’t have my cell phone. When I got into the locker room, I took it to talk to my family and I had five missed calls from Mou.”
Dybala revealed the amazing reaction from the former coach of Real Madrid and Inter Milan. “I don’t remember if I called him first or my mother. When I called Mou, he was so happy. He loves Argentines. He always talked wonders about the Fideo (Angel Di Maria) and Leo (Messi). We always speaks fondly of Argentines.”
Jose Mourinho asked Dybala to bring a World Cup champion to AS Roma
A few days later, that first call between Paulo Dybala and Jose Mourinho ended in another huge talk to convince a World Cup champion to sign with AS Roma. Leandro Paredes had an uncertain future with PSG and Mou asked Dybala if there was a shot.
Dybala answered: “Yeah, for sure.” Then, Mourinho took the phone and called Paredes to convince him. “You have to come here.” Of course, those were great news for Paulo. “I wanted him to come. Here in Roma, I didn’t talk in Spanish with no one. When Mou opened the door, I called Leandro. Luckily, it happened. We have such a great time. The families frequently gather and we train together. We are so happy.”
Paulo Dybala and the dream of conquering the World Cup
Furthermore, Paulo Dybala admitted that Argentina’s path to the title is a feat which might not happen again. The struggles losing multiple finals, breaking the ‘curse’ in Copa America 2021 at Brasil and then a magical run at the 2022 World Cup.
“It’s impossible not to think about the World Cup every day. It’s impossible to remove it from our heads. It’s something that will stay with us for life. It’s true that our careers continue and hopefully we will achieve more things and titles, but I would say that it’s impossible that something like this will be repeated. How it all went and happened.”
How many titles has Jose Mourinho won with AS Roma?
In 2021, Jose Mourinho signed a three-year contract with AS Roma and immediately transformed one of the most important clubs in Italy. He made them contenders in European tournaments.
Mou won the UEFA Europa Conference League on May 2022 and, one year later, he led the club to the UEFA Europa League final which they lost against Sevilla FC.