Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic had high praise for Jose Mourinho and Roma ahead of the Europa League final, noting how he fears ‘the strength of their collective’.
The Giallorossi booked their spot in the Europa League final with a vintage Mourinho performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their semi-final tie. The club edged out a 1-0 win in the first leg and controlled this lead in the return clash, frustrating their German opposition.
Mourinho has now guided Roma to two European finals in his first two seasons at the club and is desperate to lift silverware with them again, but first will need to overcome Europa League specialists Sevilla.
Speaking to Tuttosport via Calciomercato.com, Rakitic first discussed how it feels to face another Italian side after Sevilla beat Juventus in the semi-finals.
“And it will be even harder. First of all because Roma are led by one of the best coaches in the world, let’s say in the ‘top three’, a great who has already won all the European cups in his career, and not only those… Mourinho is a truly ‘special’ strategist, unique, in every sense.”
He touched on the strengths of the Giallorossi.
“I fear the strength of their collective capable of facing any eventuality. And in particular a very talented player, an Argentine world champion: Dybala. I swear I was very surprised when I saw last year that he was not confirmed by Juventus.
“A very difficult opponent to contain. Technical, imaginative, unpredictable. And Roma’s current top scorer, no?”
The Sevilla midfielder spoke about the fact that Italian teams have qualified for the finals of all the European competitions this season.
“I have always appreciated your football. In Croatia we are ‘lovers’ of Italy. I’ve heard it said that a World Cup without the Azzurri is like Formula 1 without the Ferrari: I completely agree with this sentence.
“But football goes on and never stops. Here, this Italian triumph in the European Cup finals is a very positive sign, a sort of redemption after the exclusion from Qatar. In a dry game, in a final, Italy are even scarier…
“I’m rooting for Inter and I hope Fiorentina win in Prague against West Ham. But my Sevilla and I absolutely have to prevent Roma’s hat-trick, of course.”
Finally, Rakitic gave his thoughts on the Champions League final between Inter and Manchester City.
“I think that the English, undoubtedly favourites, will not have an easy time. In a one-off game, watch out for surprises. Inter are a very good team, we saw it in the derby semi-final with Milan, they won twice, adding up the results the aggregate score is 3-0.
“City drew in Madrid and then overwhelmed the Spaniards in England, total 5-1. There is no big difference, in fact only one goal difference. I hear that the odds of the English winning are in the order of 80%.
“But that won’t be the case in Istanbul. I say 55-45, maximum 60-40 for City. It will be a close, very even and balanced game. Inter are a complicated rival for the English.”