Jose Mourinho cannot wait to lift his sixth major European trophy, but is wary of the fact that he can hardly rest on his laurels. His Giallorossi outfit face competition masters Sevilla in Budapest tomorrow, in a match that could ultimately decide his future at the capital club.
Speaking to UEFA.com in an exclusive interview, Mourinho dished at length his experience of winning showdown clashes.
History doesn’t win matches at all. You look at Real Madrid’s finals and you think Real Madrid wins every final. You look at Sevilla and you say Sevilla wins every final. But the reality is that history doesn’t win matches. Superstition is something that I don’t like, so I don’t look at superstition even as a factor.
It’s a new final. It’s new history. They have experience of being there. We have experience because we were in a European final very recently. I just want to play the game.”
Mourinho couldn’t care less about becoming the first coach to win the UEFA Europa League with three different teams – first with Porto in 2002/03, before capturing it with Manchester United in 2016/17.
“Do I know that I could become the first coach to win this competition with three teams? I really don’t care. In this moment of my career, I think of the happiness that we can give to the fans, that’s it. To be in this final is something that nobody would have expected at the beginning of the season when you see the incredible, incredible quality of the teams in the Europa League. Barcelona and Arsenal were in this competition and they were kicked out very, very early. For Roma to be in this final, it means a lot. So let’s try to have the ultimate happiness.”
21 May marked the 20th year anniversary of Mourinho winning his premier European trophy, after his Porto side beat Celtic 3-2 in Estadio La Cartuja in Seville.
“I don’t think too much about what happened before. What happened, happened. I always look forward, that’s my philosophy. Is the fact that I am up against Sevilla when I won that first trophy in Seville significant? No, I don’t think so. I’ve been in football for many years. Maybe people think I’m older than I am. Maybe they look at my white hair and think I’m really old, but not old enough to think about closing the circle. No, no, no. You are going to have me, still, for many years.”
Sevilla have won the tournament on each previous occasion they have reached the final, and Mourinho will have the chance to upset the Rojiblancos’ quest for Europa League supremacy.
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