The Italian outfit defeated Leicester City 2-1 o aggregate to enter the final of the Europa Conference League where they will face Feyenoord on May 25.
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As Roma head coach Jose Mourinho became the first man in history to guide four different clubs to the UEFA final when his side overcame Leicester city in the semi-finals of Europa Conference League on Thursday. The Italian outfit defeated the Foxes 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico courtesy of Tammy Abraham’s 10th-minte header while the first leg in Leicester finished 1-1 after Gianluca Mancini’s own goal had canceled out Lorenzeo Pellegrini’s first-half strike. Roma will take on Feyenoord in the title decider at Air Albania stadium on May 25. It would be Mourinho’s fifth final in his career and he has won all four that he has coached in so far. It all started with FC Porto in 2003, when he guided the Portuguese club to UEFA Cup triumph and followed it with a 2004 Champions League victory.
Buongiorno. Daje Roma! ?? pic.twitter.com/vRWWqqQ3qR
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) May 6, 2022
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In the 2003 UEFA Cup final, Porto defeated Scottish side Celtic 3-2 in extra-time to lift the title. It wasn’t just a one-season miracle as Mourinho guided Porto to their second ever Champions League triumph when they defeated Monaco to lift the trophy. In 2010, the Portuguese tactician coached Inter Milan to Champions League glory by getting the better of Bayern Munich in the final before taking Manchester United to Europa League triumph in 2017.
The 59-year-old manager has a knack of winning the knockout tournaments and if could take Roma to glory in Tirana later this month, he would become only the third coach in history to win three different UEFA competitions after Giovani Trapattoni and Udo Lattek, who both won the European Cup, UEFA Cup and the winners cup. When Mourinho’s Inter won the treble in 2010, he was often criticised for his ultra defensive game plan. The Nerazzurri would often defend deep with 8-9 players and hit the opposition on the counter-attacks. Their semi-final victory against FC Barcelona was a classic example of Mourinho’s tactics as his team defeated the defending champions 3-2 on aggregate to enter the final where they defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 to lift the trophy.
Roma are currently placed fifth in the Serie A, 10 points adrift of the top-four, and are out of contention for a Champions League qualification with three games remaining. However, Mourinho has already made his first season with the capital club successful by reaching the final of the inaugural edition of the Europa conference League and Roma also managed to achieve an unbeaten streak of 12-Serie A games, which is the best in their history. Approaching 60, Mourinho has shown that he is willing to wait while he attempts to build Roma into a contender.
Abraham was one of Mourinho’s first signings at Roma last summer and the Englishman has proved to be a pivotal player this season. The club announced the 24-year-old signing in august for a reported GBP34 million and he has netted 25 goals across all competitions so far. Nine of the striker’s goals have come in the conference League while 15 were scored in the Serie A. Mourinho has the ability to bring out the best from his players. “We have a coach who knows how to win. But it’s been a growth process,” Roma defender Gianluca Mancini said. “It’s not like just because you have Mourinho on the bench you win right away.”
