Tearful Jose Mourinho Reacts After Winning Europa Conference League With AS Roma

Tearful Jose Mourinho Reacts After Winning Europa Conference League With AS Roma

Isaac Darko
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:03 PM
In this article:
UEFA Europa Conference League logo
UEFA ECL
Europe
  • Jose Mourinho has dedicated the UEFA Europa Conference League triumph to the fans of Italian giants AS Roma
  • The Portuguese coach has a perfect record in European finals, having overseen five wins in five finals with Porto, Inter, Manchester United and now Roma.
  • A first half goal from Nicolo Zaniolo ensured that AS Roma were victorious of the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League at the expense of Feyenoord

Jose Mourinho could not hold back the tears after guiding AS Roma to a 1-0 victory over Feyenoord in the finals of the Europa Conference League.

A solitary strike from Nicolo Zaniolo was enough to hand the Italian giants a hard-fought win over Feyenoord in Tirana on Wednesday night.

The Italian forward pounced on a lofted pass over the top of the defence from Gianluca Mancini to lob the ball past Justin Bijlow in the 32nd minute.

Jose Mourinho, Europa Conference League, AS Roma
Teary Jose Mourinho Reacts After Winning Europa Conference League With AS Roma. Credit: @metro
Source: Twitter

The victory ended Roma's 14-year wait for a trophy and also made Mourinho to cement his name in the history books as the first manager to win the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Fighting back the tears while speaking to Sky Sport Italia, quoted by Metro Sports, after the victory, Mourinho said:

‘There are so many things going through my head. So many things at the same time.
‘I’ve been at Roma for 11 months, I realised the moment I arrived what it meant, they were waiting for this. As I told the lads in the locker room in Turin, we did what we needed to do, qualify for the Europa League. We had great work all season.
‘This was not work tonight, this was history. We had to write history. We wrote it.’
He continued: ‘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 will go on vacation and sit on the beach to think about all this for a while!
‘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. It’s one thing to win when everyone expects it, when you made the investments to win, but it’s quite another to win when something remains immortal, that feels truly special.
‘I think of myself, of course, but above all the Roma fans who can celebrate tonight, enjoy themselves and remember this night forever.’

Jose Mourinho Sets Unprecedented Record After Europa Conference League Title Win

Sports Brief earlier reported that Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho has set another unprecedented record in European football after guiding Italian side AS Roma to the Europa Conference League title.

It's been over 31 years since Roma’s last European final and 14 years since the club’s last trophy but Jose Mourinho has made history with them.

The 59-year-old tactician becomes the first manager to win the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Authors
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Isaac Darko
Isaac Darko is a La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga editor at Sports Brief with a Degree in Journalism and Communications from Ghana Institute of Journalism (2010)