Jose Mourinho of Roma calls his ‘special one’ tag an old story as he attempts to beat Feyenoord to become the first coach to win Europa Conference League

The manager of Roma, Jose Mourinho described his famous “special one” tag as an old story while insisting that there is nothing special to be done in the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord.

Later today, May 25, 2022, at 20:00, Jose Mourinho will lead Roma to Arena Kombetare in Tirana, Albania to play the first edition of the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord.

If Jose Mourinho managed to guide the Italian club to win the Conference League, he would become the first coach in the world to win the title. He would also become the first manager in the world to win all the three major European club titles.

Recall that Jose Mourinho won the Champions League at Porto and Inter Milan. He won the UEFA Cup at Porto and also won the UEFA Europa League at Manchester United.

Ahead of the Conference League final against Feyenoord, reporters asked Mourinho whether he would use his “Special One” effect to win the game. The 59-year-old Portuguese coach stressed that he does not believe in “magical options”.

Note that Jose Mourinho declared himself the “Special One” when he was the coach of Chelsea between 2004 and 2007. During that era, he helped Chelsea to win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two league cups, and one Community Shield.

Since then, many refer to him as the Spacial One or as the Chosen One, tags the veteran tactician seems not to be interested in anymore.

During the Conference League final pre-match press conference, Jose Mourinho who helped Roma to finish 6th on the league table with 63 points in 38 games, stressed that he now thinks more about his team than himself.

“I don’t believe in magical potions, I don’t believe in magical spells,” Jose Mourinho said. “There’s nothing special to be done, just us to be us as a team. Knowing the qualities we have, knowing the limitations we have.

“The ‘Special One’ story is an old story. It was when I was at the beginning [of my career]. When you have more maturity and stability, you think more about the people and less about yourself. It’s an old story. I don’t believe in magic – when you arrive at a final after a season of work, the work is done. It’s the team’s moment, not the moment of an individual.

“If I win I will become the first one to win all European trophies, but that’s only if I win.

“We arrived at the end of this season’s journey with two finals to play in four days,” he added, highlighting their 3-0 win over Torino on Friday that guaranteed them a place in the Europa League next season.

“The first one gave us what we deserved and had as our target, which was to play in the Europa League and improve the club’s ranking. We managed to win that final and for me, that was a final where you couldn’t make history: you just finish the season’s work and achieve a goal.

“This, however, is history.”

🗣️ "That special one story is an old story,"

Jose Mourinho discusses what he thinks of that 'special one' quote as he looks to make history tomorrow by becoming the first manager to win all three major European trophies ahead of their game against Feyenoord… pic.twitter.com/obwa1Wsr8c

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 24, 2022

When will Jose Mourinho retire from coaching?

Jose Mourinho started coaching in 2000 at Benfica and started winning major titles at Porto in 2002. Afterward, he served as the football manager of some of the biggest clubs in the world including Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United.

When he became the coach of Manchester United in 2016, Mourinho had a chat with United’s legendary coach, Sir Alex Ferguson who retired from coaching in 2013. In the chat, Ferguson told Mourinho that not much has changed since he retired. Hence, the Portuguese tactician intends to use the outcome of the chat to continue coaching a bit longer.

Mourinho told UEFA’s official website ahead of the Conference League final: “I asked him (Ferguson), ‘What is it like, boss? Does it change? Does it change over the years?’. He said, ‘Forget about it. Nothing changes. It’s the same up until the very last day’.

“That is why I keep saying I cannot believe I am 59 years old. I cannot believe I have a 21 or 22-year career as a head coach.

“I cannot tell you when I am going to stop because I cannot visualize it. The passion doesn’t change.”