Jose Mourinho assures Paulo Dybala and Chris Smalling could play against Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow, noting technically Roma have ‘already won the Europa League’ by being the only side remaining who started the competition.
The semi-final kicks off at the BayArena on Thursday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
The Giallorossi won a very tight first leg tie thanks to the goal from youth product Edoardo Bove, plus a late goal-line clearance by Gianluca Mancini.
They therefore have a slender 1-0 advantage going into this game, but with the away goals rule scrapped, any defeat by a one-goal margin would prompt extra time.
The coach had some good news at the very start of his press conference, when asked about the fitness levels of Dybala, Stephan El Shaarawy and Chris Smalling.
“They can all play tomorrow. All of them,” said Mourinho. “Only Karsdorp, Llorente and Darboe are unavailable. The issue is how long they can play, not due to the injury, but the fitness levels. In Smalling’s case, he hasn’t played a single minute in weeks, while Dybala rarely plays more than 30 minutes when he’s not 100 per cent.
“This is why we have to think about how long they can play, 20, 30, 40, 60 minutes, and what is best for the puzzle of the match.”
Marash Kumbulla is also on that list after undergoing knee surgery.
Mourinho, who has been repeatedly linked with Paris Saint-Germain, was asked if the Europa League will in any way affect his future.
“No, I don’t want to talk about that. There is a game to be played tomorrow, which isn’t even the Final, so the focus is on that. I am not even thinking about the Final, let alone about my future.”
The Special One has already reached five European Finals in his career, including last season’s Conference League.
“The past is the past, we do not know the future, so this is the present and that’s what counts. At Porto I had two European Finals in successive years. I really want to reach this Final now, not for me, as I have become a different person who thinks more about others than about myself. I want it for the lads and the fans.
“The fans are simply extraordinary and the lads are incredible, having a season where they give absolutely everything in many moments of difficulty where people had to surpass their limits. They deserve a lot.
“Nobody gives you anything for free in football, so we need another extraordinary performance to reach the Final.”
Roma are considered the favourites to lift the Europa League this season for some bookmakers and that is largely due to Mourinho’s presence.
“I have zero interest in superstition, bookmakers or being considered favourites. What I’ve been saying for 20 years is that if you reach the semi-final, you have a 25 per cent chance of winning the trophy and a 50 per cent chance of reaching the Final. That is how I feel.
“I don’t know what direction the game will take, it’s difficult to say. What we want to do is reach the Final, but we don’t know if it’ll be decided in 90 minutes, extra time or penalties, but there is a lot of football still ahead of us and with a 1-0 lead, even if Bayer or Roma score, you still cannot say the game is going in any direction. It’s going to be a very long match.”
Mourinho has been saying since the group stage that it is unfair the Europa League is then ‘invaded by sharks’ dropping down from the Champions League.
It is therefore curious that of the four semi-finalists, only Roma have been in this particular tournament since the start.
“If I did not have the ambition of trying to win, it would be very easy for me to say now that we have already won the Europa League. Because if the Europa League is for the teams that started this competition, then Roma have won.
“However, that is just theory, our objective is to win. I want to make very, very clear my respect for Bayer Leverkusen as a team, but there is greater value for a side built to play in the Europa League and has had 14 games in the Europa League rather than a team that made the investments to play in the Champions League group phase.
“This is a competition therefore between clubs with different potential. We had a tough group stage with Real Betis, then a play-off with a Champions League side Real Sociedad, who are already qualified for next season’s Champions League, and a Feyenoord side that has already won the title in the Netherlands. So it was a tough journey for us.”