Beaten by Sevilla (1-1 a.p., 1-4 t.a.b.), Wednesday night, in the final of the Europa League, the coach of AS Roma saw his incredible invincibility (5 European finals, 5 wins) come to an abrupt end. He went through a whole range of emotions over the course of a stunning evening. Just moments after the medal ceremony for the losers, the Roman coach first removed his medal from his neck and headed to the stands to hand the charm to a young AS Roma supporter. Provoking the surprise of the public but especially the joy of the "bambino". Then "The Special One" came out of the stadium, out of the arena like a Roman emperor.
José Mourinho gave his runner-up medal to a fan in the crowd pic.twitter.com/fYpljbAQ7c
— Fútbol (@El_Futbolesque) May 31, 2023
If he did not return to this "gift" in a press conference, Mourinho was more vocal about his future. The one who remained on 5 finals won in European cups (two Champions Leagues with Porto (2004) then Inter Milan (2010), two Europa Leagues on the bench of Porto (2003) and Manchester United (2017) and the Conference Europa League won last year with Roma) assured that he was ready to stay on the bench of Rome... but not under any conditions.
"I want to stay but my players deserve more, I deserve more. I don't want to fight for that anymore. I'm tired of being a coach, a communicator, the spokesman for the club," he said before adding that he wanted to "stay, but in better conditions to be able to give the best of myself".
"To have a referee like that in a European final, it's really hard"
At 60, Mourinho remains an iconic, renowned and sought-after coach. His name circulates throughout Europe. "That's not the topic tonight... What matters is the team," he continued. "Next season we won't play in the Champions League, maybe it's better, it's paradoxical, but we're not ready for the Champions League. We still have to qualify for a European competition, like the Europa League. Before the final day on Sunday, Roma are in sixth place in Serie A, one point less than Atalanta (5th) and one more than Juventus (7th).
The "Mou" assured to have "never been as proud as tonight". "I said before the final that it would be the cup or that we would be dead. Well, we're dead now, physically, mentally too, it was a tough, high-level, very competitive and very intense match. You can lose a game, but never your professionalism. I've won five finals and lost this one, but I've never been as proud as tonight. The guys gave it their all," he explained... before pointing the finger at the "unfair" arbitration of the meeting.
Mourinho: "Sei una f*****a disgrazia!!️"
L'allenatore della Roma urla tutta la sua rabbia in faccia all'arbitro Taylor🤬 Mentre Rosetti, designatore UEFA, cerca di calmarlo
📹 @GianluVisco #ASRoma #Mourinho #EuropaLeagueFinal #Sportitalia pic.twitter.com/3TxOZAEol0
— Sportitalia (@tvdellosport) May 31, 2023
"It was a very tough game, very high intensity of competitiveness, where the pressure is felt against a team that has more solutions than us, but I have to defend my boys and have a referee like that in a European final, it's really hard. " In particular, he criticised him for not having given Lamela a second yellow card and for not having signalled a penalty for his team following a foul by Fernando.
"We hope that (Athony) Taylor, who is a great referee, will only do the Champions League and that he will do like today only in the Champions League and not in the Europa League, because we in the Europa League are more humble. "
At the end of the evening, in the bowels of the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Jose Mourinho continued his show against Taylor. On the videos that have since made the happiness of social networks, we hear Mourinho say "It's a fucking disgrace" ("it's a fucking shame" in French in the text).
