The Portuguese coach José Mourinho will try to offer Roma their most important trophy in European football on Wednesday – and the second in a row – when they face Sevilla, title record holders, in the Europa League final.
The Spanish club has already lifted the scepter six times, all in the 21st century (2006, 2007, both still in the UEFA Cup format, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020), with the intimidating fact for the Italian team of to have done it Each time he reached the decisive match, but he will face a coach who also counts the five European finals played for titles.
Winning the 2022/23 Europa League is also an opportunity for the two clubs to obtain a ‘winning ticket’ for the next Champions League, since both no longer achieved that objective through the ‘regular’ route, failing to finish the respective championships. . in positions of access to ‘Champions’.
Sevilla is for the Europa League what Real Madrid is for the Champions League, which they have won 14 times in 17 finals. The Andalusians have been even more effective, with the ‘breaths’ of triumphs when it comes to big decisions and double the trophies of the second most winning clubs: Inter Milan, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool, all with three .
The Spaniards returned to their ‘beach’ after being relegated from the ‘millionaire’ league to the second European competition, at the end of the group stage behind the colossus Manchester City – who will dispute the scepter with Inter Milan – and Borussia Dortmund.
The road to the Europa League final was not without surprises, with tangential qualifications against PSV Eindhoven (total 3-2, in the play-offs), Fenerbahçe, led by the Portuguese Jorge Jesus (2-1, in the ‘eighth’) and the ‘executioner’ of Sporting, Juventus (3-2, in the ‘middle’), showing a weaker margin only in the quarterfinals, against Manchester United (5-2).
Roma, for their part, have been playing in the competition since the group stage, which they completed without brilliance, behind Betis (from the same city and Sevilla’s greatest rival) and ahead of Ludogorets and HJK Helsinki, having ensured qualifying for the play-off on the last day, after beating the Hungarians.
The Portuguese international goalkeeper Rui Patrício is the head of the Roman goal and one of those responsible for his presence in the final, which he reached after having beaten Salzburg (2-1, in the play-off), Real Sociedad (2-0, in the ‘eighth’), Feyenoord (4-2, in the ‘quarters’, with the return to be decided in extra time) and Bayer Leverkusen (1-0, in the ‘half’).
Argentine striker Paulo Dybala, the team’s top scorer this season with 16 goals, is likely to be absent from the final, and Jose Mourinho said he would be happy if he could use the influential player “for 10 or 15 minutes.”
Roma is preparing to play for the second consecutive European title, after having won the first edition of the Europa Conference League last season, already under the technical command of José Mourinho, more than 60 years after the only continental trophy, the extinct Fair Cities Cup, predecessor of the UEFA Cup and the Europa League, in 1961.
The transalpine fans hope to increase the ‘memorabilia’ and, for this, they have the ‘Mourinho effect’, who won all the finals he played, not counting the European Super Cup, between the winner of the ‘Champions’ and the Europa League, since he lost the three in which he was present.
The 60-year-old Portuguese coach began his legend at FC Porto, by winning the Europa League in 2003 and the Champions League in 2004, and continuing it at Inter Milan, with a new ‘Champions’, in 2010 , before lifting the Europa League again, in 2017, at Manchester United, and last year’s conquest, already at Roma.
This edition of the Europa League featured the participation of two Portuguese teams: Sporting de Braga fell, without history, right in the group stage, and Sporting, relegated from the ‘Champions’, was eliminated by Juventus in the quarterfinals. final, after having committed the feat of distancing Arsenal in the ‘eighth’.
The Europa League final for the 2022/23 season is scheduled for Wednesday, at the Puskas Arena, in Budapest, starting at 8:00 p.m. (Lisbon time) and refereed by Englishman Anthony Taylor.
Source: TSF
