“Seville is the favorite in its history” was the “strongest” statement from the Sevilla coach speaking at UEFA Media Day. It also intervenes in the moment of Rojiblancos in view of the Europa League final, which will be played in Budapest in 6 days. “We are pursuing the plan,” he says, “to reach the final as well as possible. We played yesterday, we will play the final on Saturday and then the final on Wednesday. It’s a very tight schedule, but I’m satisfied because it’s going to be tight because of reaching the final.
“I didn’t have time to think about this final or about Roma. We had very challenging games in which we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I saw a few Roma games but I didn’t think about it.” “Too much, we want to play Real first and then prepare well for Wednesday.” José Luis Mendilibar remains true to his method: we mustn’t look too far , but day after day. After all, it was in this way that he pulled Sevilla out of the crisis and led them to yet another European Cup final in their history against Roma. “What would it mean to win her? It would be very important for the club to play in the Champions League next season, it would change turnover and goals. And then it would be important for me to win this Europa League too: whoever gets beaten.” “The final doesn’t even remember God,” smiles Mendilibar, who refuses to be called a favorite. Sevilla can be considered favorites because they have won this trophy six times. You often look at history or sales, but I see this finale as 50 and 50”.
Mendilibar, who has great respect for his Giallorossi colleague, says: “Mourinho is one of the greats, just think about what he’s won and where he’s trained, the best clubs in Europe. I only have good things to say about him.” It’s wonderful to be able to compare ourselves to him, but we’ll try to beat him. Mourinho’s football? I remember when he was coaching Real Madrid I had the opportunity to see two training sessions and one game and speak to his staff and I’m grateful for that. He’s proven to be a great coach, he’s imprinted his style on the teams he’s coached and, most importantly, he’s done a good job. He also manages to convince the players of what he wants, he even hired Eto’o as a full-back. .
Alongside the Spanish coach, Papu Gomez, an old acquaintance of Italian football, also spoke. Speaking of next week’s final, Papu said, “No one thought we would reach the final. We’re in a good position in the league now and we’re in the Europa League final. We’re going to miss a game against Real, but that’s definitely the case.” A bit of a final lead. Roma is a big player in the Italian and European leagues: they can hurt us at any time. Mourinho is a great coach. Dybala? Haven’t heard from him yet, let’s hope he can play because he’s a great champion. Pellegrini and Spinazzola are out? They are great players, let’s hope they can be on the pitch.”
Papu Gomez