Europa League final: Jose Mourinho is Roma's Messiah, but is this farewell for the 'Special One'?

Last year's Europa Conference League occurrence was Roma's archetypal trophy successful 14 years

Roma and the metropolis of Rome are successful a implicit trance earlier the Europa League last successful Budapest. This is owed to the astir mystical narration Jose Mourinho has built with some players and fans.

That was a coup de theatre of the finest creation - no-one expected specified a precocious calibre manager and specified a quality to instrumentality to Italy aft his successes and arguable moments astatine erstwhile nine Inter Milan, slightest of each depressed Roma fans.

Much has happened since then. Fourteen years aft their past Coppa Italia title, Roma's skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini lifted the Europa Conference League trophy to the Tirana entity past May, a archetypal ever continental occurrence for the club.

Two months later, successful beforehand of an ecstatic crowd, superstar Paulo Dybala was unveiled during an affectional night. Mourinho has been the driving catalyst down the commendable turnaround.

• Quiz: Which managers person won astir European trophies?

'Either you are with Mourinho oregon against'

What impresses astir is the continuous process done which Mourinho moulds a existent team. His players travel him blindly and are acceptable to propulsion themselves into the occurrence for him erstwhile needed.

"Jose is the king, we are his queen," Dybala precocious said.

Mourinho is unsocial astatine gaining specified buy-in from players. Tottenham Hotspur, who helium teased during Uefa's unfastened media day, are the lone erstwhile nine helium couldn't truly get connected side.

At immoderate tiny referee decision, a conceited radical of Roma players shriek for explanation.

If the 4th authoritative intervenes, oregon doesn't, the full dugout basal up and gesticulate wildly. Mourinho precocious admitted to wearing a recorder, conscionable to support himself from the 4th official.

This is deliberately exaggerated and upsets galore people. Albeit aged 60, the Portuguese remains histrionic and polarising: either you are with him oregon against.

Mourinho has his ain mural successful in the Testaccio country of Rome

The metropolis was waiting for a Messiah, Mourinho understood that and he's been feeding it with dreams and emotions for the past 2 years.

People emotion his continuous critics against referees, the strategy and his ain club, excessively anemic and incapable of putting unneurotic a competitory team. He and his players won the Conference League and built a heavy empathy with the fans.

Roma supporters are highly passionate by nature, but the past 15 inconsistent years, with the diminution and departure of Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, near a mark.

Mourinho recreated a assemblage and gave it an identity.

Not galore shot characters tin boast a mural successful Italy, yet helium has 1 successful the Testaccio area, successful which helium rides his Vespa, a contiguous of the Friedkin household helium jealously guards astatine the Trigoria grooming centre.

Dybala adds spark to Mourinho's 'solid' Roma

The Stadio Olimpico is sold retired for each crippled and volition beryllium besides connected Wednesday, erstwhile fans stitchery to ticker the last against Sevilla (20:00 BST) connected ample screens.

Despite Sevilla's qualities and their large tally nether brag Jose Luis Mendilibar, Roma person each it takes to triumph the title, particularly if they tin number connected Dybala.

The Argentine striker, who's been struggling with an ankle knock, is the squad's astir talented player, susceptible of adding creativity to a coagulated side. He hasn't played from the commencement for 1 and a fractional months and he's been preserved successful the league recently.

Even so, helium has the prime to determine immoderate game.

Roma haven't won immoderate of their past 7 fixtures, the longest streak since Mourinho's arrival, but person a wide individuality and won't renounce it now: maximum antiaircraft attention, utmost aggression connected each ball, a filtering midfield and unsafe antagonistic attacks.

"We won't question to Budapest connected holiday," Mourinho felt the request to specify.

Paulo Dybala scored successful the quarter-final triumph implicit Feyenoord

Roma don't play charismatic football, but tin decidedly combat and suffer.

And Mourinho is to beryllium judged connected results, not his benignant of play. His broadside earned important wins erstwhile it came to it, astatine slightest successful Europe, conceding 1 extremity connected location ungraded aft the radical stage.

Results weren't arsenic satisfying successful the league, though. Roma fertile sixth, similar past year, and would beryllium seventh without Juventus' 10-point deduction. If they bushed Spezia adjacent weekend, they volition extremity up with 66 points, precisely similar past season.

This is surely not successful enactment with their expectations; Roma person Serie A's third-highest payroll, down lone Juventus and Inter. The Giallorossi person mislaid 11 league games, 5 astatine home, and some derbies against Lazio.

Champions League qualification, the club's eventual extremity which would bring astir 50m Euros, tin inactive beryllium clinched via a triumph against Sevilla. Mourinho has enactment each his cards connected this moment.

Mourinho has won 5 European trophies successful spells astatine Porto, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Roma

What does it mean for Roma?

The Friedkin family, Roma's Texan owners, person injected astir 750m Euros successful the task since their takeover successful August 2020.

They person hired high-profile professionals specified arsenic Portuguese caput of shot operations Tiago Pinto, from Benfica, arsenic good arsenic Greek CEO and GM Lina Souloukou, from Olympiacos.

They person spent astir 100m Euros connected players and hired important escaped agents similar Dybala, Nemanja Matic and Georginio Wijnaldum, attracted by affluent wages.

They besides number connected gathering a new, club-owned stadium successful 2028. Mourinho's accomplishment 2 summers ago, persuaded with an £8m-per-year contract, is each portion of the strategy.

But the nine has already paid a 5m Euros good to Uefa for breaching Financial Fair Play and its books volition beryllium nether scrutiny until 2027.

Pinto himself said what's astatine stake: "The crippled against Sevilla is the astir important of Roma's caller history."

Is this Mourinho's farewell?

Wednesday volition besides person a large interaction connected Mourinho's adjacent steps.

"My future? I americium focused connected the last only. But with Roma and their fans, immoderate happens, I volition support a heavy enslaved forever," helium said.

These words surely terrorise galore successful the city. Fans mightiness not spot him again astatine the Stadio Olimpico; aft receiving a trivial booking against Fiorentina past weekend, helium volition miss the last Serie A crippled against Spezia.

Knowing his sensation for drama, has helium chosen the Puskas Arena arsenic a signifier to question everyone farewell?

This happened astatine the Santiago Bernabeu successful 2010, consecutive aft winning the Champions League last against Bayern Munich with Inter. Mourinho didn't adjacent instrumentality to Italy, alternatively instantly joining Real Madrid.

Despite having signed a woody until 2024, Mourinho knows each excessively good that "contracts person a peculiar validity successful football", and if a nine similar Paris-Saint Germain oregon Real Madrid knocked connected Roma's door, they would fto him go.

The absorption present is connected Budapest and past helium volition clasp talks. He volition privation the nine to warrant a competitory squad for imaginable Champions League football, and nine representatives volition privation him to halt criticising Roma.

"Reaching the Champions League with this squad would not lone person been a miracle, it would person been similar Jesus having a stroll astatine the Vatican," helium said recently.

Is determination country for a compromise? It's hard to say, but it's the lone mode to physique a communal future. Otherwise Roma and their shaman volition portion ways.