Jose Mourinho has reached the sixth European finals in his career after Roma secure a victory against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, 18th of May.
The Portugal International will have a chance to claim a sixth European cup, although to accomplish that his AS Roma team will have to halt Sevilla from winning a record-extending seventh Europa League title.
Jose Mourinho and his men reached the Europa League final by clutching Bayer Leverkusen to a 0-0 draw in Germany on Thursday night following the kind of disciplined defensive operation that Mourinho’s teams have been known for.
The Italian club moved through 1-0 on aggregate after they defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the semifinal at home.
Roma will lock horns against six-time champions Sevilla, which knocked out Juventus with a 2-1 score after extra time to prevent an all-Italian final.
Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen in brief;
The first-leg goal scored by Edoardo Bove was enough to put the Italian team through to the second round.
In the first half of the second leg, Moussa Diaby hit the crossbar for Xabi Alonso’s team, but they were unable to score.
Leverkusen, down a goal, started the game on the offensive. After being sent clean down the right flank, Diaby unleashed a ferocious shot that rattled the crossbar and bounced harmlessly away.
Soon after, Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio made a diving stop from Kerem Demirbay, and Leverkusen were infuriated when Sardar Azmoun appeared to be hauled down by Bryan Cristante on a breakaway just outside the box with Patricio unchallenged.
The home team maintained pressure in the second half, with Azmoun dipping a shot well wide, but they were unable to convert their territorial advantage into goals.
So, Roma will be playing in their second European final in as many years after going 31 years without reaching one.
Jose Mourinho and his team will face Sevilla in the Europa final on the 31st of May, which will take place in Hungary’s capital Budapest. The question is, can Sevilla stop Jose Mourinho from winning the Europa League title for Roma this season?
Jose Mourinho’s European finals record;
Mourinho has won all five of his five European finals, including last season’s Europa Conference League win with Roma.
Jose Mourinho gained his first-ever European cup final with Porto against Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup, after Porto defeated Celtic in the final by 3-2 scores.
Mourinho led the same Porto to the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League title after they defeated Monaco 3-0 in the final.
Mourinho won his third UEFA cup after guiding Inter Milan to the final in 2010. The Italian powerhouse beat Bayern Munich to complete the club’s treble the same year.
His fourth European cup came when he was Manchester United’s head coach. In the 2016/2017 campaign, Mourinho led the Red Devils to the first Europa League glory after they beat Ajax in the final by two goals to nil.
Last season, Jose Mourinho made history as he guided Roma to their first European glory in 31 years after they defeated Feyenoord in the final. He became the coach to win the maiden edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
What’s next for Jose Mourinho and Roma?
The team’s attention will be shifted to their remaining league match as they’ll be preparing to face Salernitana on Monday, 22nd of May.
Who’s Jose Mourinho?
Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Félix is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of the Italian Serie A club Roma.
Jose Mourinho’s age;
Mourinho was born on the 26th of January, 1963 in Setúbal, Portugal.
Jose Mourinho’s career;
After working as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto, Mourinho got his start in coaching.
He went on to become an assistant coach at Barcelona, first for Robson and then for his successor, Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho returned to Porto as a manager in 2002 after brief stints with Benfica and Uniao de Leiria, during which time the club won the Primeira Liga twice, a Taça de Portugal, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1987.
Because of his success, Chelsea signed him in 2004 and brought him to England.
At the beginning of his management career, Mourinho was marked by arrogance, and the phrase “I think I’m a special one” became synonymous with him.
After three successful seasons with the club during which they won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and two League Cups, he reportedly had difficulties with club owner Roman Abramovich and left in 2007.
Mourinho joined Inter Milan in 2008 and led them to two Serie A titles, as well as the club’s first-ever European treble (Serie A, Coppa Italia, and UEFA Champions League) in 2010.
Later that year, he became the first ever FIFA World Coach of the Year thanks to becoming one of just five coaches to win the European Cup with two different clubs.
Jose Mourinho became only the fifth coach in history to win league titles in four different nations when he moved to Real Madrid in Spain and won La Liga in 2011–12.
He also has the Supercopa de Espaa and the Copa del Rey to his name.
After being let go by Real Madrid in 2015, Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 and won another Premier League and League Cup with the club until being let go in 2015.
Both his stints at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in Englan were rather brief and ended in acrimony, so he stayed in England.
Despite this, Mourinho led Manchester United to a treble in his first season, including the UEFA Europa League, League Cup, and FA Community Shield.
He also guided Tottenham to the League Cup final. Soon after, he was appointed by Roma and led them to victory in the first UEFA Europa Conference League, becoming only the third manager in UEFA history and the first to do so with four different clubs.
He spent more than £1 billion on transfers and was voted Portuguese Coach of the Century by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in 2015.
Both fans and detractors have likened him to the legendary Argentine manager Helenio Herrera due to his tactical acumen, charm, and contentious personality, and a reputation for prioritizing results over attractive play.
