Jose Mourinho insists the Conference League semi-final with Leicester City is ‘always 50-50’ and Roma are playing for the win, despite the fact he identifies certain Foxes advantages.
The first leg kicks off at the King Power Stadium on Thursday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
This is the derby of Claudio Ranieri, who is a lifelong Roma supporter and famously won the Premier League title with Leicester City.
“We are friends, but we haven’t talked about this game,” said Mourinho in his press conference. “I’ve said that many coaches won the Premier League, like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, me, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, but the one Ranieri one was the most special of all.”
Mourinho worked with Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers as part of his staff at Chelsea.
“We had a lot of fun together, we are friends, even if obviously football takes you in different directions. He’s a fine coach with a bright future ahead of him.”
When it comes to choosing a favourite for this two-legged clash, Mourinho is hedging his bets.
“Leicester dropped down into this tournament from the Europa League, whereas this is our 13th Conference League game. We paid for it in Serie A by dropping points, having played on Thursday and then Sunday. Teams with 30 players all of the same level can rotate and not pay with points, but we don’t have that.
“The advantage Leicester have is they don’t need to worry about their Premier League position, whereas we do if we want to qualify for the Europa League, as we can still finish anywhere from fifth to eighth place in Serie A. It’s a tough moment, but also one with a lot of motivation.
“I have reached many European semi-finals and I say that no matter the names and the potential, it is always 50-50.”
Now that Mou has left the Premier League for a return to Serie A with Roma, what differences can he see?
“There is so much potential, but you can only do so much with hard work, there are limits that can only be covered by money. That objectively is the difference between Serie A and the Premier League.”
Nicolò Zaniolo is expected to start with Tammy Abraham and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
“Our objective is to play for the win. If we lose, just as we did against Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-final, we have the second leg at home.
“I enjoy the cultural differences in the game and a referee can influence that too. In Italy right now, there are few clubs who can afford the squad of a Premier League side, even if it’s Leicester City rather than Liverpool or Manchester City. At the same time, tactically we can do things that cause problems for sides with a greater economic potential. That’s the beauty of football.”
Roma are the only Serie A side still in Europe, but it also represents their third different semi-final in the last five years, having reached the Champions League and the Europa League semi’s.
“It’s to the credit of the coaches, club and the players. If you look at a possible Champions League decided by UEFA co-efficients, Roma could get in there. As I always say, reaching the semi-final matters, but it doesn’t matter much if you don’t then reach the Final.”
#Roma , #Mourinho : ‘Meritiamo la finale, abbiamo perso punti per arrivare qui’ #ConferenceLeague #UECL #LeicesterRoma https://t.co/YDWN7PHkDJ pic.twitter.com/Ytk6vNHxgd
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) April 27, 2022
Already making excuses for why they’ll get beat. What happened to Mourinho?
@Norata – he hasn’t made any excuses. Just some salient points including ‘
There is so much potential, but you can only do so much with hard work, there are limits that can only be covered by money. That objectively is the difference between Serie A and the Premier League.”
he also says, correctly, that it’s 50/50.
@Feroli – fair points. Money is almost everything in football, and it’s funny how UEFA keep saying it’s about the fans.