Jose Mourinho burst into tears on Thursday night after the final whistle in the match against Leicester City (1-0, 2-1 over two games). Tammy Abraham caused great joy in Rome with the only goal of the game. With the win, AS Roma can prepare for the final of the Conference League against Feyenoord on May 25 in Tirana. Mourinho is opposite BT Sports ecstatic about reaching the first European final in 31 years with his club.
Roma knew they needed a result after the first leg at King Power Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw last week. A goal from Abraham after eleven minutes turned out to be sufficient. “I felt from the first day how big this is,” Mourinho said afterwards. “This is a huge club, but without the trophies to back it up. History does not match the social strength of this club. That’s why I’m very emotional.” Mourinho could become the first manager in history to win the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
#Mourinho a fine partita era praticamente in lacrime. Perché una vittoria é semper una vittoria, e questa vale davvero tanto. Per lui e per la Roma. #ASRoma #RomaLeicester pic.twitter.com/l5sokUlEbW
— Jacopo Aliprandi (@AliprandiJacopo) May 5, 2022
“Of course I’ve had bigger moments than this”, gives the Special One modestly. “But I don’t feel for myself, I feel for the people and my players. When you work in Rome, live in Rome and breathe Rome, you breathe this club. Because it’s the real club of the city. Yesterday (Wednesday, ed.) we saw a great semi-final in the Champions League, but that is not our level (Real Madrid – Manchester City, ed.). It’s great for us to reach a European final. For us this is the Champions League.”
In the run-up to the final, Roma must first close the Serie A well with matches against Fiorentina, Venezia and Torino. The season will conclude against Feyenoord on May 25. “We are a family,” the Portuguese continues. “As you get older you become less and less selfish. I feel more and more like a father or grandfather to my players. I am very happy for them. Rome is red and yellow again, in the coming days we will experience the joy in the city. That’s our greatest achievement, the empathy and family feeling we’ve created with the fans,” Mourinho concluded.
At the end of May, Feyenoord in Tirana (Albania) is the last hurdle for AS Roma. For this match, the Romans gave 166 match tickets to the supporters who were present during the beating in the Conference League group match against Bodö/Glimt. “The club has decided to thank the 166 supporters who attended the game on October 21 at the Aspmyra Stadium in Bodö and to guarantee them a free ticket to the final,” the club announced shortly after the semi-final won.