Roma manager Jose Mourinho spoke to Sky Sport ahead of tonight’s Europa League affair with Sheriff Tiraspol.
Despite having to serve his suspension later tonight and thus not being allowed on the touchline, Mourinho discussed Roma’s objective for this evening and for the whole competition.
“The two finals we played, the semi-finals, the quarter-finals, were emotionally important moments for building a united team. Going to Tirana and Budapest is a source of pride for the fans.”
“During the group stage the only objective is to get through. If you finish second, you have two extra games you don’t need. Last year we made a mistake on our debut, losing in Ludogorets, and that put us under pressure. From tomorrow onwards we will try to build a group that will allow us to qualify first.”
“Sheriff has had an incredible run in Europe in recent years, the victory at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid is football history. We have analyzed this season’s team and it hasn’t changed much from the recent past. Bordin is a good coach, you can see that the team is well organised. In the league he plays with a 4-man defence, in Europe it’s more like a 5-man defence.”
“Dybala and Lukaku? I don’t want to say who plays and doesn’t play, we have a squad with many options. Paulo and Romelu are unique and special players for us. Despite the absences of Smalling, Pellegrini, Azmoun and Kristensen we have a squad that gives us the chance to make some change without losing the structure and without losing our strength to win the game.”
