This is our Champions League, says Roma's Mourinho

MILAN • Jose Mourinho has admitted he is very "emotional" and that he is not finished yet ahead of today's Europa Conference League final, a third-tier competition belittled by some but which has captured the imagination of Roma and Feyenoord supporters.

Starved of success in recent years, both teams travel to the Arena Kombetare knowing they will be backed to the hilt for the climax to a successful inaugural season for Uefa's new tournament.

Such is their fans' desire to be at the final that the 20,000-capacity stadium in Albania's capital Tirana is nowhere near big enough, with Roma coach Mourinho saying that the two teams' supporters "would have filled the Santiago Bernabeu".

"When you work in Rome, you live in Rome, you breathe Rome and you breathe this club," added the Portuguese, who has won all four of his previous European finals, with Porto (2003 Uefa Cup and 2004 Champions League), Inter Milan (2010 Champions League) and Manchester United (2017 Europa League).

"I felt from the day I signed that they were a huge club, but with no victories and not many finals. I'm very emotional. This, for us, is our Champions League."

Roma were last in a continental final 31 years ago - losing the Uefa Cup to Inter Milan - and the team have not won a trophy since their 2008 Italian Cup victory.

Their fans have offered unconditional backing to Mourinho, who is seen as yesterday's man elsewhere but has created a strong team spirit with Roma and got the best out of summer signing Tammy Abraham.

"You're finished when you no longer have passion for the game," the Roma boss said. "It's up to us coaches to decide when enough is enough and you've got to wait a lot longer for that to happen to me."

Abraham has been a star this season, repaying his €40 million (S$58.9 million) transfer fee from Chelsea by scoring 27 goals in all competitions, nine of which have come in the Conference League.

"For me it's not a little Cup," the 24-year-old said last week. "I believe every final is a final - no matter what competition it is. You get to the final, you want to win."

Feyenoord have a fuller trophy cabinet but the majority of their successes came in the last millennium. The 1970 European champions also won two of the old Uefa Cups but it has been slim pickings since their last European success.

They have never made it past the group stage of the Champions League and have not gone further than the last 32 since groups were introduced to the Uefa Cup in 2004 ahead of the remodelled Europa League five years later.

"To reach a final you need luck at the right moments..." said their coach Arne Slot.

"We've made people proud, but it's not over yet. We haven't won anything yet and we really want to do that."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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