Mourinho in thinly veiled Spurs jibe as Roma boss ‘shed a tear’ after win over Leicester
Jose Mourinho couldn’t resist having a go at Tottenham after the Roma boss ‘shed a tear’ after his team beat Leicester to reach the Europa Conference League final on Thursday.
Tammy Abraham’s header gave Roma a 1-0 win on Thursday and a 2-1 aggregate victory to set up a final with Feyenoord in Tirana later this month.
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The final whistle sparked wild celebrations with Mourinho notably emotionaly as Roma reached their first European final since 1991.
After the game, Mourinho said: “It’s a victory of the family – not just players and coaches but the family that was in the stadium. This is our greatest merit – this empathy, sense of family.
“We played an extraordinary game. The boys were extraordinary, they deserve this. We’ve had a great run to get there and 14 games are a lot. Now we’re in a final and we want to win.
“I shed a tear because my emotion was for everyone who loves this club. This is a giant club without the trophy room in relation to the dimension of the club.”
But the Portuguese boss had to bring up his acrimonious departure from Spurs, who sacked him after he had led the club to the League Cup final, as he laboured over past feats.
He added: “This is not a trophy, only a final, but it means a lot to them. I know what it means for them. Every club I coached I reached the final. I cannot say I played a final with all of them, but I reached a final with all of them.”
Defeated Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers says the loss would be an important learning experience for his side.
He said: “It’s a young team and learning all the time, this is a level a lot of them have never been to. It’s only natural but the guys will learn and it’s another experience. It’s a tough one when you lose but it’s important to learn from it.
“It’s been a great journey for us. The players will learn and gain a lot of experience from it. Nights like tonight will stay with them and give them that motivation going forward.
“The players will feel the experiences of the last couple of years. We can regroup in the summer, feelings of tonight will provide a great motivation and when you have more coaching time it gives you a chance to push on.”
