19 May 2023 , 08:12
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Jose Mourinho revealed a place in Roma's history isn't his main motivation after leading the Giallorossi to the Europa League final.
Mourinho led Roma to Europa Conference League glory last season, his first campaign in the Italian capital. The Italian side are now into a second final in as many years after securing an aggregate victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
The only thing standing between the Portuguese boss and a second trophy in as many years is a Sevilla side who have won the competition more than any other team. After the final line-up was confirmed, though, the former Chelsea boss made his stance clear.
“My concern isn’t marking my place in the Roma history books,” Mourinho told Sky Sport (via Football Italia). “It’s helping these kids to grow, to achieve important things.
“It’s also helping the Roma fans who have given me so much since day one. It’s an immense joy to get to another final."
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Roma travelled to Germany with a 1-0 lead to defend, thanks to a goal from academy graduate Edoardo Bove at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg. Leverkusen gave it everything they had, with more than 20 shots compared to just one for the Italian side, but Roma held out for a goalless draw at the BayArena.
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Roma needed to be at their best defensively in Germany (Ralf Ibing/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Mourinho also spoke of the importance of Chris Smalling, who came off the bench after recent hamstring issues. “If we don’t have Smalling on the bench, maybe we don’t win this game.” the manager said. “We lost [Leonardo] Spinazzola and then [Zeki] Celik, if we didn’t have him at that moment it would have been very difficult."
Roma are one of three Italian sides to reach a European final this season, with Inter facing Manchester City in the Champions League and Fiorentina also facing Premier League opposition, with West Ham their opponents in the Europa Conference League final. It could have been four, but Juventus missed a chance to join Roma in the Europa League final after their extra-time defeat to Sevilla.
Dusan Vlahovic put Juve in front in Spain, giving them a 2-1 aggregate lead with 25 minutes remaining. However, former Liverpool man Suso equalised on the night to force extra-time and ex-Spurs star Erik Lamela scored the winner for Jose Luis Mendilibar's side.
Roma's run to the final comes after a five-game run without a league win put paid to their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League through their Serie A position. With three games of the season to go, Mourinho's team are six points behind Lazio in fourth and one point behind fifth-placed AC Milan, but can still secure Champions League football if they beat Sevilla in Budapest.