Roma emerged winners of the UEFA Conference League last night when they defeated Feyenoord Rotterdam one-nil in the final held in Tirana, the capital city of Albania.
The atmosphere was an engaging and electrifying one with both clubs’ fans cheering at the top of their voices. Roma were the favourites to win the game, mainly because of their manager Jose Mourinho who had won four of his previous European finals prior to yesterday.
Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has also rebranded his side to be a very formidable side in the competition and also in the Dutch top flight. The Dutch side has had a very decent campaign going into the final and they were always going to give Roma a run for their money.
The game began rather quietly, with both sides trying to observe the other’s strengths and assess their weaknesses. Feyenoord was creating good opportunities, especially from their left-wing area and it was giving the Roma right-wing-back a good cause for concern.
Roma began to attack soon enough and exploited the midfield and tried to play in between the Feyenoord defense lines. The defenders worked hard and kept Tammy Abraham and Nicolo Zaniolo at bay.
The deadlock was broken in the 32nd minute when a ball was floated in from the midfield and fell nicely to Nicolo Zaniolo whose first touch caused the centre-backs to come at the same time, though he had quickly poked the ball in with his left foot to give the Italian side the lead.
Feyenoord then began to attack, hitting the uprights twice before the 50th minute, and then had a penalty appeal overruled and the game continued, with Roma trying to get a grip on it. Feyenoord’s attack was an exciting one and they kept tormenting the Roma backline but they stood strong.
The final whistle blasted and that meant Roma was UEFA Conference League Champions, the competition’s first-ever winners. The players rushed onto the pitch and celebrations began with the Italian club. Jose Mourinho makes history by becoming the first manager to win the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League.
He also became the first manager in the competition to win it. The 58-year-old has been much admired by the club and speaking about his future he declared he was not leaving the club. He has hereby rejected any offers from other clubs and insists he will stay at the Stadio Olympico next season and possibly beyond then.
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