Jose Mourinho says Europa Conference League is 'Roma's Champions League' after semi-final win
- Planet Sport writer
- 6 May 2022
Serie A side Roma will contest the Europa Conference League final in Tirana later this month.
Roma boss Jose Mourinho says the Europa Conference like is 'their Champions League' after they beat Leicester in the semi-finals.
A goal from former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham was enough to settle the tie and send the Serie A side through with a 2-1 aggregate advantage to face Feyenoord in the final.
The Europa Conference League has come under some criticism since its creation as the poor relation of the UEFA competitions.
However, Mourinho insists it is a big priority for Roma and a he sees it as proof he is making progress at the club.
"When you work in Rome, live in Rome and breathe Rome, you breathe this club because it is the real club of the city," Mourinho said.
"I felt from day one it is huge. But no victories and not many finals. The history is not related to the social dimension of the club.
"We managed to build an OK team that grew step by step so we could beat a Premier League [team].
"I am very emotional. Of course I have had bigger moments than this but I am not feeling for myself, I am feeling for the people and my players. This for us, is our Champions League."
Brendan Rodgers, meanwhile, urged Leicester to pick out the positives from their Europa Conference League campaign even if it has not ended how they wanted it to.
4 - José Mourinho is the first manager to reach the final of a major European competition with four different clubs, having done so with Porto (UEFA Cup & Champions League), Inter (Champions League), Man Utd (Europa League) and now Roma (Europa Conference League). Special. pic.twitter.com/fTRYaCVA6k
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 5, 2022
"It's a young team and learning all the time, this is a level a lot of them have never been to," Rodgers said.
"It's only natural but the guys will learn and it's another experience. It's a tough one when you lose but it's important to learn from it.
"It's been a great journey for us. The players will learn and gain a lot of experience from it. Nights like tonight will stay with them and give them that motivation going forward.
"The players will feel the experiences of the last couple of years. We can regroup in the summer, feelings of tonight will provide a great motivation and when you have more coaching time it gives you a chance to push on."
