Fifth victory in the European Cup
Mourinho is promoted to ‘The Only One’
05/26/2022, 07:51 am
The first Europa Conference League title belongs to José Mourinho. The Portuguese also wins his fifth European Cup final. The “great mental fatigue” that the coach attested to the team on the way to the final has disappeared. Mourinho is also relaxed when celebrating.
Jose Mourinho couldn’t wait. Even before the official handover, the star coach of AS Roma approached and kissed the new trophy that was given to the first winner of the Conference League in Tirana. “I was 100 percent sure that the season would end with a special event – and that’s what happened,” said Mourinho, who is now the only coach to have won all three current European competitions – that’s not surprising, after all, the Conference League was celebrating premiered this season.
The Italians’ tough 1-0 final win over Feyenoord Rotterdam will not be remembered very well – the following title party, which started directly in the stands in the cramped stadium in Albania and at home, probably will. “Roma are champions, that’s all that matters. It’s incredible. We won for the fans,” said defender Leonardo Spinazzola after Nicolo Zaniolo had given the team the European title they had been waiting for for 61 years.
In the Italian capital alone, 50,000 fans celebrated in the Stadio Olimpico at the public viewing on Thursday night. There were numerous horn concerts and car parades on the streets, as usual after a great triumph of the national team, which had won the European Championship title last year.
2003, 2004, 2010, 2017 – 2022
Mourinho is actually called “The Special One”, but “The Perfect One” or “The Only One” would also fit after this game. Because the 59-year-old Mourinho maintained his flawless final record on the international stage. After triumphing with FC Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League, with Inter Milan in the premier class in 2010 and with Manchester United in the Europa League in 2017, he also won his fifth European Cup final.
“We came into this final with a lot of mental fatigue. But we got through it. It’s a wonderful group that makes me really excited,” commented the title coach. A few minutes later, his team showed up in Tirana’s compact press room and gave Mourinho the beer shower – almost obligatory after the titles. The delighted Mourinho spontaneously decided to leave the press conference with his players – but only after jumping merrily.
It was the first European Cup victory for an Italian team since Mourinho’s success with Inter Milan 12 years ago. At that time, the Italians defeated FC Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League – and Mourinho resigned in front of the TV cameras immediately afterwards. The first conference league winner was now spared such a step. Mourinho had previously emphasized that he would like to fulfill his contract, which runs until 2024.