Roma manager Jose Mourinho said he was “very emotional” following his side’s Europa Conference League semi-final triumph over Leicester City on Thursday. The Rome – based club will face Feyenoord in the inaugural final on 25 May in Tirana, Albania.
Portuguese Mourinho is the first manager to reach the final of a major European competition with four different clubs.
“I am very emotional. This for us is our Champions League,” Mourinho said after his side won 2-1 on aggregate.
“When you work in Rome, live in Rome and breathe Rome, you breathe this club because it is the real club of the city.
“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]. 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.”
Mourinho who guided former clubs Inter Milan and Porto to Champions League titles, before winning the Europa League with Manchester United in 2017 will be guiding Roma to a first European final since 1991 in his first season.
England striker Tammy Abraham, who scored the winning goal in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico, added: “Before the game started, the fans won us this game. We could hear them before getting into the stadium and throughout the warm-up.
“The win was for them and my team. Hopefully we can go all the way.”