Incredible story of Jose Mourinho: the Portuguese сomletes Europe as Roma end 14-year trophy drought
José is rewriting history again: this time, the Special One has become the first manager to win all the European trophies: the most prestigious one – UCL, second-tier UEL and now he has lifted UECL. 32 years without a European trophy. Mourinho сlosed this Roma gestalt in his first season at the helm – thereby securing an eternal place in the history of the recently created tournament.
After all, Mourinho is an extraordinary coach. Experience and expertise played a key role in the recent final – it was the coaching decisions that allowed the Italians to celebrate the trophy.
The Portuguese was primed for victory long before the match started.
“We are at the final stage of this journey. We have already made history by reaching the Eurofinals, but now we have to write a new one and win it,”
Mourinho was confident as always.
“I only think of the final. It’s like a first one for me. Nothing has changed in that sense. If we win it, I will be the first to win all the European trophies.”
Jose meant it.
Against Feyenoord, his team scored first even when the attacking play was lackluster. The Romans shot on goal for the first time in the 32nd minute, but how! Nicolo Zaniolo had just a couple of touches to get on the scoresheet.
Probably, the Portuguese coach hinted to the weak link in Feyenoord’s defense – central defender Gernot Trauner. Before the conceded goal the sluggish Austrian got a yellow card, and in the episode with the goal he simply made a positional mistake.
By the way, note the reaction of Jose after goal. AS Roma bench and fans in the stands literally went crazy, but the Portuguese remained as calm as possible and even pushed the players away from the field.
Calma, calma (“calm down”) – he shows with all his look to humble the team. The Portuguese was literally waving off the congratulations and radiating calmness
By the way, Feyenoord were fighting on equal terms with Roma. After the first half they had an advantage both in terms of ball possession (62% – 38%) and shots – 5:3 (2:1 on target). Nevertheless, Mourinho’s team made the most of the minimum.
But what delightful football was shown by Feyenoord immediately after the break! Arne Slot‘s team surprised Roma, Mourinho and the fans with their unorthodox decisions on the pitch. A tricky corner-kick with a long-range cross ended with Gianluca Mancini hitting his own woodwork and a following second attempt from Guus Til – however, the goal was denied by magnificient goalkeeper Rui Patricio. The Portuguese was on fire the whole match.
Whats more, an unexpected backheel pass from Fredrik Aursnes gave Tyrell Malacia a one more chance to score, but again, he hit the post.
Roma were really lucky in course of the match. By the way, Til was immediately substituted. Guus’s stats in the Conference League final: 31 touches, 75% of accurate passes, one shot, one created chance, one failed dribbling attempt, three fouls won out of nine and a couple of ball recoveries. The Feyenoord coach was probably expecting more sharpness from phenomenon of the season.
The Romans were clearly playing to keep the scoreline. Quite in Mourinho’s style. Jose even substitited Nicolo Zaniolo by fielding an extra midfielder. That said, Feyenoord’s leading scorer of the season, Cyriel Dessers (10 goals), was literally lost among Roma’s central three defenders. Mourinho’s team only had to wait for their opponents to completely exhaust themselves and, thus, will be late with counterpressing and allowing counterattacks.
And despite the fact that Feyenoord were in excellent physical form at the end of the season, Roma managed to do the most important thing – they allowed almost nothing to be created by the Dutch until the final whistle. The Romans also lost the second half in terms of shots (6-8, 2-3 on target, but nevertheless clinched a dry victory. A pragmatic game brought results.
Jose Mourinho has accomplished a unique achievement: he is the only coach to have won every existing European trophy. José has never lost a single European final. And this is all even more ramarkable as Wolves have not added a European trophy to their trophy cabinet since 1961. Feyenoord, on the other hand, lost a Eurocup final for the first time in history.
“Mourinho works best under pressure. The man is a serial winner, that’s a fact. You have to hand it to him: he has had some difficult periods, but he has not given up.”
“It will mean a lot to him. He will be proud of his players, his coaching staff and the trophy he won with Roma. It’s a huge achievement,”
said the former England midfielder.
The players literally praising the Special One by carrying him in their arms
In 2010, Inter won the Champions League under Mourinho. The Nerazzurri joined with congratulations to the Portuguese:
Porto, with which Mourinho won the Champions League for the first time in his coaching career, also praised the Portuguese:
“Congratulations to Jose Mourinho and Sergio Oliveira for winning the Conference League,”
the Dragons said in a post.
Roma rented the midfielder Oliveira from Porto in January.
Social media users point out interesting facts and stats praising the manager’s talent:
Ex-Man utd Chris Smalling, who was named the Man of the Match, commends his teammates:
“We knew how much this would mean to everyone in Rome and you can see how together we are. We really fought to the end. We’ve had to do that on a few occasions this year. We dropped a bit deeper than we ideally wanted to but we had to give everything. You could see strikers running back, everybody fighting.”
“When I first came to the club it had been a long time since they’d won a trophy and I mean … you can hear the fans, you probably can’t hear me … you can see how much it means. We’ve got some of the best fans.”
Ex-Chelsea Tammy Abraham:
“One thing I said when I came was I was going to help my team get to the final and win a trophy in my first season. We deserved it. We have worked hard all year.
“I love them [the Roma fans}. From day one it has been the best. We are champions, I am happy to be part of the team. Now it is time to party and celebrate.”
“The great thing about my career is that, aside from the Europa League with Manchester United, doing it with Porto, Inter and Roma is very, very, very special,”
Mourinho said.
“It is one thing to win when everyone expects it, when you made the investments to win, but it’s quite another to win when something feels immortal, that feels truly special. This remains in the history of Roma, but also mine. I was told only I, Sir Alex (Ferguson) and Giovanni Trapattoni won trophies in three different decades. It makes me feel a little old, but it’s nice for my career.”
“Now I am staying, there are no doubts. Even if some rumours emerge, I only want to remain at Roma. We must understand what our owners, who are fantastic people, want to do next season, because this is history, but we can build a really strong project with honest professionals.”
he added.
The season seems like the perfect backdrop before the second campaign. Traditionally, this is the year when Mourinho’s teams peak. The team and the city have embraced the 59-year-old manager. There will be fresh transfers in the summer under his system. Demand – especially in the Serie A – will also be different. It seems we are in for a very exciting spectacle.Don`t miss out 👉: 5 Greatest UEFA Champions League Finals
