context matters too. 2nd place against the odds is considered a success. was di francesco successful in the cl with roma when they beat barcelona? of course. was spurs' run impressive with pochettino? obviously. if only wins were considered to be an acceptable result there would be hundreds of literal losers every season, and only one winner.
fucking spoiled jj fans take scudetti for granted too lol. and they even differentiate. conte scudetti: great success, cemented the foundation for sarri too. allegri scudetti: cardiff
i remember and appreciate progress against the odds. it was nice to beat real en route to berlin. morata goals, sturaro's incredible tip of the toe clearance with james' header, those are gold moments. same for the run before cardiff. finals were a bummer of course. but those were great seasons against the odds. it rarely happens in football, so we better appreciate those too.