Roma manager Jose Mourinho released a lengthy interview with Record where he discussed in great detail the feeling of winning a major trophy in the Italian capital, collaborating with Tiago Pinto, and much more.
“I put winning the Conference League with Roma on the same level as a victory of any other European competitions because it gave me such strong emotions, regardless of the level of the competition,” said the Special One.
“There are clubs for which European victories are a natural consequence of investments and expectations. I was lucky that out of five victories, four were against nature. With Porto, for example, no one expected us to win in Europe, same with Inter. And even less so with Roma.”
“These trophies were won with madness and passion, because they coincide with one of my main concerns as a manager. Giving happiness to others is the most beautiful thing in life. In the case of Roma it was a very special victory.”
The Roma manager gave his verdict on the Giallorossi’s campaign, “It depends on who analyzes it. For some Portuguese TV Einsteins, our season was bad, but for me – and mind you, I’m very demanding with myself – it was fantastic, because we didn’t have the capability to do better. We had players who have played 50 games and I’m not talking about Rui Patricio who has played 54…”
“I relied on some of the younger players. I was missing a top player in Spinazzola for ten months, I had Inter, Milan, Juve, Napoli, Atalanta and Lazio as opponents. And we had 14 games on Thursdays, with league games the following Sunday.”
“And then there is all the work that is done internally to improve the club, which cannot be seen from the outside. For this I say: the great Tiago Pinto.”
On Pinto specifically, Mourinho had nothing but high praise. “He is my buddy, my partner, every day, a great director and, today, a great friend. Now I realize why Benfica didn’t win the league this year.”
On going forward with Roma: “We are aware of the difference that separates us from the top teams in the standings and we only have to continue in one way: work, work and work. Only this way will we be able to reduce the gap. There is no other way.”
Finally, Mourinho complimented Rui Patricio on a job well done in his first season at the club, “He is a monster .. the “Saint Patrick” of Rome. He played 54 games, made two mistakes or so, but he always gave very good performances. How does he not start for the national team after the season he’s had with Roma? That’s blasphemy.”
