Jose Mourinho said the first Europa Conference League final on Wednesday would be “to end the journey” as his Roma team prepares to face Feyenoord.
Giallorossi defeated Leicester City in the semi-finals and finished sixth in Serie A this season to qualify for the Europa League next season.
Mourinho recently emphasized that winning the Europa Conference League would mean a lot to him as his UEFA Champions League titles with Porto and Inter.
The match against the Dutch team will be at the Arena Kombetare in Tirana, Albania, and speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mourinho said winning the first round of the tournament was a big goal for his team.
“For me, this final game has nothing to do with writing history,” he said. “It is about completing the journey we have been on this season and achieving one of the goals we have always had.
“My staff and I have been in Trigoria since the Torino game, preparing for the game. The team looks good to me, ready for this.”
Attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has not played since suffering a hamstring injury against Leicester last month, but Mourinho said the Armenian midfielder could be available on Wednesday.
“Mkhitaryan trained today with the team for the first time. But it was an easy session,” he said.
“Still, it was important for him to see how he felt out on the field. I will rely heavily on his opinion of whether he is right or not tomorrow.”
The former Chelsea boss used to go with the moniker “The Special One”, following his mark when he became manager at Stamford Bridge in 2004, but insisted he was no longer the same person and wanted to help his team. .
“The Special One story is nonsense,” he added. “It’s what you say at the beginning of your career. As you progress, you grow up, you start to think more about others than you do. So that’s an old story for me. Tomorrow, I’ll just try to help.”
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini also spoke to the media, saying he and his teammates would be “focused and determined” to win.
“Who wouldn’t want to bring something home that will last forever in the history of this club?” said the 25-year-old.
“We will be focused and determined, as we always are. I hope tomorrow will end up being one of the best days of my life.”
