Tiago Pinto was ‘really surprised’ by the bitter criticism from Bayer Leverkusen after Roma reached the Europa League Final. ‘The club and Jose Mourinho deserve respect.’
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).
This is the first match since Thursday’s hard-fought 0-0 draw at the BayArena, which allowed the Giallorossi to beat Leverkusen 1-0 on aggregate and set up a Europa League Final with Sevilla on May 31.
It is safe to say, the German club did not take elimination well, with several players and staff calling Roma’s style of football ‘disgusting’ and extremely negative.
“I was really surprised by the statements from some at Bayer Leverkusen,” director Tiago Pinto told DAZN.
“There are two things that matter in football, one is the result, but also respect. Roma have reached four semi-finals in the last six seasons, are in the top 10 rankings and a coach with 26 trophies and eight European finals in his career like Mourinho deserves respect too.”
The Serie A side won the Europa Conference League last season and this term is the only remaining club who started in the Europa League, as semi-finalists Sevilla, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen all dropped down from the Champions League group phase.
“Considering all the difficult teams we went past in the tournament and indeed over the last two years reaching two Finals, I think that is really harsh. On behalf of myself, the fans, the owners and the club, we are proud of the journey we have been through.
“Some people talk about the Mourinho way in a negative sense, but we are really proud of his leadership and the way he deals with the fans too. We hope to be celebrating again at the end of the season, as that means we’ll have won the trophy.”
Tiago Pinto was asked about the future of Roma with Mourinho and again shrugged it off, only stating talk of disagreements between the two Portuguese figures are exaggerated.
“If everything people said was true, we wouldn’t have been able to have lunch together every day. As we always said, there are the right times and places to talk about the future, and this is neither of those.”