Portuguese manager leads AS Roma to UEFA Conference League final
Portuguese manager José Mourinho has led Italian side AS Roma to the first-ever UEFA Conference League final after eliminating Leicester City in the semi-final with a 1-0 second-leg home victory on Thursday night.
A lone Tammy Abraham header was all Roma needed to give them a 2-1 aggregate lead and secure a spot in the final, where they will face Dutch side Feyenoord on May 25.
Mourinho, who achieved his eighth qualification for a European football final (two Champions League, one UEFA Cup, one Europa League, three UEFA Super Cups and now the Conference League), admitted it was an emotional night.
“When you work in Rome and live in Rome, you breathe Rome as Roma is the real club of this city. I felt from the day I signed, I knew it was a huge club,” he said.
The 59-year-old coach added: “The history is not related to the social dimension of the club. We’ve managed to build an OK team that has beaten a Premier League team so I am feeling for the people and for the players. This for us is our Champions League.”
Mourinho has won four European football titles, having led FC Porto to back-to-back titles with victories in the UEFA Cup (now known as Europa League) in 2002/2003 and the Champions League in 2003/2004.
His second Champions League title came at the helm of Inter Milan in 2009/2010, while his latest tale of European glory came in 2016 when he led Manchester United to a 2-0 win over Ajax to lift the Europa League trophy.
By Michael Bruxo
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