Sevilla vs Roma
UEFA Europa League
Final
Wednesday
31st May 2023
Puskas Arena
José Luis Mendilibar does not care much that colleague José Mourinho sees Sevilla as the favorite for the Europa League final. The Portuguese drew that conclusion in response to an earlier statement by the trainer of Seville, who said that the Spanish club is used to playing Europa League finals.
Sevilla coach responds to Mourinho: “I’m not working on that”
Sevilla has already won the UEFA Cup/Europa League six times in recent years. Mourinho stressed that you don’t win games based on history. The trainer of Sevilla agreed during his press conference, but also said: “History is there and it doesn’t lie. This club has been the best in this league for the last 20 years, but at the end of the day it’s just a football game.”
According to Mourinho, Mendilibar tried to put Sevilla forward as a favorite with his statement, but the coach contradicted that. He added, “I’m not concerned with who’s favorite at all. That is nice for the bookmakers, but in the end it will not determine who wins or loses tomorrow. It doesn’t affect what happens on the field. We’re just going to play our best possible match.”
The final may be Mendilibar’s penultimate match as Sevilla coach. The coach signed a contract in March until the end of the season. Sevilla will play in the competition against Real Sociedad next weekend. “In principle, my work will be done next week, but I’m not worried about that. Before I came here, I didn’t have a job either. We’ll try to win tomorrow and then finish the competition in a good way, then we’ll see,” he concluded.
Mourinho returns to Sevilla coach’s statement: “I don’t think so”
On the eve of the confrontation in Budapest, Mourinho spoke to the press about, among other things, criticism of his playing style and hard hand as a trainer.
“I don’t care about that criticism,” the Portuguese was clear in conversation with BT Sport. “What can I do, fight everyone? I can not do that, I work hard, do my best. I do that every day. No one can say no when they work with me. That’s my philosophy. We will do everything we can to win this prize.”
“I came here to develop the club and create special moments in the club’s history,” Mourinho continued. “There are clubs where a final is just another game, but that’s not the case here. The final here is very special.”
Mourinho has no fear for Sevilla, which has already won the UEFA Cup/Europa League six times. He said, “We are not afraid and we are not waiting. We hunt to reach our goal. We know our qualities and our shortcomings. And we will do everything we can to hide the shortcomings and exploit the qualities. We are a close-knit group. These guys deserve so much to be in this final.”
Mourinho also returned to statements by Sevilla coach José Luis Mendilibar during his press conference. “According to him, they have the advantage because they have been in this final before. I do not think so. History won’t matter tomorrow. Yes, this is historic for our fans and not for theirs, but as soon as the game starts we will be there,” he concluded.
