Jose Mourinho has insisted that he is not obsessed with the idea of attaining legendary status at the Stadio Olimpico, after leading Roma to the Europa League final thanks to the 1-0 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen.
The Special One has now guided the Giallorossi to consecutive European finals, having won the inaugural edition of the Conference League at the hands of Feyenoord at the end of the 2021-22 season.
“My concern isn’t marking my place in the Roma history books,” he told Sky Sport after the final whistle. “It’s helping these kids to grow, to achieve important things,” he explained. “It’s also helping the Roma fans who have given me so much since day one. It’s an immense joy to get to another final.
Mourinho also thanked several of his players for their contributions and cited his side’s “tactical superiority” as one of the key factors in their recent European success.
The win was “In the small details,” according to Mourinho. “If we don’t have Smalling on the bench, maybe we don’t win this game.” he continued.
“We lost Spinazzola and then Celik, if we didn’t have him at that moment it would have been very difficult. The small details make the difference. We can also thank Bove, who played from out of position on the right-hand side.
“The boys give everything, this game is the result of our work, experience, tactical wisdom, and knowing how to stay in matches. It’s an incredible team.”
Mourinho also thanked the Roma fans for their stellar support over the course of their Europa League journey, but asked for one more favour heading back into Serie A action in a few days’ time.
He said: “If I can ask the Roma fans for more, these guys deserve something special on Monday, starting from training at Trigoria going into the match.
“Three finalists is a good thing for Italian football . Sevilla and Juventus are two very strong teams, but my concern wasn’t to draw one of the two, but getting there first. It will be very difficult for us.”
1 attempt on goal, 0 shots on target, 0 blocked shots and 1 corner kick 😂 Liquid football 🤦🏻♂️