Jose Mourinho has claimed Roma have ‘already won’ the Europa League title ahead of their semi-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen today, May 18.
Roma are the final Europa League team who are still in the competition against teams that dropped from the Champions League.
Ahead of his team’s semi-final second leg, Mourinho has aimed a subtle dig at teams that dropped from the Champions League, like Leverkusen, stating that Roma deserve to win the league and they have won it already.
After winning the inaugural Europa Conference League last year, they are attempting to reach their second consecutive European final.
Roma beat Leverkusen 1-0 in the first leg of the semi-final last week at the Stadio Olimpico.
Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference that his team had already won the Europa League because they had been there from the beginning and tonight’s second leg will be a win.
He remarked with a smile, saying: “If I did not have the ambition of trying to win, it would be very simple for me to say now that we have already won the Europa League.
“Roma has won if the Europa League is for the clubs that began this campaign.”
“But it is just theory; winning is what we want.”
He added, “My admiration for Bayer Leverkusen as a team is unwavering, but I believe that a team that was developed to compete in the Europa League and has played 14 games there has more worth than one that made the necessary preparations to compete in the Champions League group stage.”
Roma and Mourinho are on the verge of reaching their second consecutive European championship final. Roma are the favorite to take the entire championship after winning the first leg at home by a score of 1-0.
Mourinho added:”The now is all that matters since the past is history and the future is something we cannot predict.
“I played in two consecutive European championships at Porto. Since I’ve changed into a different person who puts other people before himself, I truly want to make it to this final. After his team advanced to the final.”
“I want it for the guys and the supporters.”
What’s next for Mourinho and Roma?
Before resuming Serie A action on Monday against Salernitana, Roma and Mourinho will play the second leg of the Europa League on Thursday, May 18.
Who is José Mourinho?
Mourinho is the current head coach of the Italian Serie A team Roma and a Portuguese professional football manager and former player.
He was born on January 26, 1963. He is 60 years old right now.
His managerial style
Mourinho, known as “The Special One” by the British media, is regarded as one of the best managers of all time and is one of the most awarded managers in history.
To maximize each player’s potential, Jose Mourinho has employed a variety of formations during his coaching tenure. The 4-4-2 with diamond, the 4-3-3, the 4-4-1-1, and the 4-2-3-1 have been the most popular method.
His coaching profession
After a lackluster playing career in the Portuguese leagues, Mourinho transitioned into coaching.
He originally worked as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto before finding success as Robson’s and Louis van Gaal’s assistant at Barcelona.
After brief stops at Benfica and Unio de Leiria, Mourinho returned to Porto as a manager in 2002 and helped the team win the UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League, two Taças de Portugal, the Primeira Liga thrice, and its first European Cup since 1987.
In 2004, he moved to England with Chelsea thanks to his coaching style and huge achievements.
Bragging was a defining characteristic of Mourinho’s early managing career, and his remark “I think I’m a special one” became a famous byline.
He spent three seasons with Chelsea, winning two Premier League championships, an FA Cup, and two League Cups before leaving in 2007 amid rumors that he had differences with club owner Roman Abramovich.
Mourinho joined Inter Milan in 2008 and won two Serie A titles there. In 2010, he also won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Champions League, and the Serie A, a first for an Italian club.
With two clubs, he became one of only five coaches to win the European Cup, and in that year, he became the first FIFA World Coach of the Year.
Mourinho relocated to Real Madrid in Spain, where he won La Liga in 2011–12 with a record number of points, becoming the fifth coach to have done so.
He also won the Supercopa of Spain and the Copa del Rey.
Mourinho returned to Chelsea after leaving Real Madrid in 2013, where he won the League Cup and yet another league championship before being fired in 2015 due to a string of disappointing outcomes.
While still living in England, he was hired by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.
However, his stay at either club was only brief and tumultuous.
Despite this, Mourinho took Tottenham to the League Cup final and won the UEFA Europa League, League Cup, and FA Community Shield in his first season with Manchester United.
He was shortly signed by Roma and won the first-ever UEFA Europa Conference League, becoming the third manager to win all three of the major UEFA club championships and the first manager to win a major European competition with four clubs.
In addition, he was the first coach to spend more than £1 billion on transfers, earning him the title of Portuguese Coach of the Century from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in 2015.
He has received comparisons to Argentine manager Helenio Herrera from both admirers and detractors due to his tactical acumen, flamboyant and contentious personality, and reputation for prioritizing results over attractive play.
Currently, the former Chelsea manager Mourinho has been linked with a move to PSG.
His current salary
Mourinho gets the second highest payment of any manager in a league where some earn even less than a million dollar. He earns £10 million annually from Roma.
Jose Mourinho trophies
Including the UEFA Europa Conference League he won with Roma, Mourinho has won 26 club titles to date.
When he was fired just days before Tottenham played in the 2021 Carabao Cup final, which they ultimately lost 1-0 to Manchester City, he once quipped that he had won another half-trophy.
Jose Mourinho trophies won: Full list and club-by-club break down
Trophies won with Porto
Primeira Liga 2002-03
Taca de Portugal 2002-03
Supertech Candido de Oliveira 2003
UEFA Cup 2002-03
Primeira Liga 2003-04
UEFA Champions League 2003-04
Trophies won with Chelsea
Carabao Cup 2004-05
Premier League 2004-05
FA Community Shield 2005
Premier League 2005-06
Carabao Cup 2006-07
FA Cup 2006-07
Carabao Cup 2014-15
Premier League 2014-15
Trophies won with Inter Milan
Supercoppa Italiana 2008
Serie A 2008-09
Coppa Italia 2009-10
Serie A 2009-10
UEFA Champions League 2009-10
Trophies won with Real Madrid
Copa del Rey 2010-11
La Liga 2011-12
Supercopa de Espana 2012
Trophies won with Manchester United
FA Community Shield 2016
Carabao Cup 2016-17
UEFA Europa League 2016-17
Trophies won with AS Roma
UEFA Conference League 2022
