José Mourinho commented on his return to Serie A and the European Conference League victory in an interview.
“In my mind, it is on the same level as other cups because it gave me strong emotions, regardless of its stature. There are clubs where continental triumphs are direct consequences of investments and expectations. I had the luck of experiencing five of those, and four of them were unnatural, including this one with Roma.”
The Special One talked with the Portuguese newspaper Record.
“This campaign was full of craziness and passion. Giving joy to others is the nicest thing you could do in life. That is why winning with the Giallorossi was very special. Our season was disappointing for some analysts, but I thought it was fantastic, because we could not have done much better.”
Mourinho underlined the difficulties they endured in 2021/2022.
“It was undoubtedly tough. We had to field multiple youngsters and did not have a top player for ten months. We had to face strong opponents and deal with 14 Thursday matches, having to play on Sunday afterward.”
The gaffer heaped praise on Tiago Pinto.
“He did a great job, and he is a top director. He has become my teammate, partner and friend. It makes sense that Benfica did not win this year. We are aware of the gap with the top sides and there is just one way to close it, which is to keep working.”
Mourinho touched on the referees.
“It is a topic of conversation not only in Italy but all over the world. Coordinator Gianluca Rocchi is in a tough spot because there are several inexperienced officials. Their mistakes affected a few of our games. But Serie A is a quality league overall, and it is growing in my opinion.”