Still don’t think the Conference means anything?
With the seconds ticking down on AS Roma’s 1-0 defeat of Leicester City in the decisive leg of its UEFA Europa Conference League semifinal on Thursday, Giallorossi manager Jose Mourinho started to weep before raising his fist in triumph.
“Why did I shed a tear?” he asked in his post-match press conference. “Because I feel what they all feel.”
What they felt, those 60,000 fans inside Stadio Olimpico and tens of thousands more throughout the Italian capital, was at once relief at reaching a European final for the first time in 31 years, the ecstasy that accompanies any knock-out victory, and the joy of supporting a team that is overwhelmingly likeable.
“We have a sense of family,” Mourinho explained. “Rome is a red and yellow city. We’ll see the joy over the coming days.”
They shall indeed.
A city viewing party is being planned for the May 25 final in Tirana, Albania, and the location will be one of Circus Maximum and Piazza del Popolo. And all for the continent’s third-tier competition.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be in more prestigious finals,” added Mourinho, who won the Champions League at both Porto and Inter Milan. “But this made me feel very special.”
It seemed to be something of a theme late this week.
At the same time as Mourinho was wearing his emotions on his sleeve, the party was starting in south-east Rotterdam following Feyenoord’s dispatching of Marseille in the Conference’s other semi-final.
Supporters lit flares, honked horns, and sang songs late into the night after watching the scoreless draw broadcast from the French port city, where prior to kick-off police had to use teargas to break up a violent confrontation of rival fans. De Stadionclub manager Arne Slot also confirmed that the team bus had been struck by a brick on its way to Stade Velodrome.
“Historic final for Feyenoord,” read a Friday headline in De Telegraaf, referencing the club’s 20-year absence from a European final. Back in Rome, Corriere dello Sport had “Daje [Come on!] Mou” splashed across its front page.
It’s worth underlining, again and again and in bright red ink, that these are reactions to Conference football—not the Champions League, but a tournament in which Roma faced Bodo/Glimt in the group stage and that Feyenoord kicked-off with a two-legged tie against Kosovar side Drita.
There’s something remarkable about that. And no disrespect to Bodo/Glimt or Drita. In fact, their presence is part of the Conference’s charm. It doesn’t seem to matter the level — most teams will tend to understand and savour the opportunity to travel through Europe and the occasion to play in a far-fling city or town.
It might as well be Rijeka or Real Madrid. Or, as in this year’s Europa League, Rangers.
The Glasgow giants are the most unlikely of UEFA’s seasonal finalists. Winners of the old European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972, they last contested a major final in 2008 when they lost 2-0 to Zenit St. Petersburg in Manchester. Five years later they were muddling through the Irn Bru Third Division— the fourth tier of Scottish football.
Even this term has been volatile. Premiership leaders until a 3-0 drubbing by Celtic in February, they’ll now have to do with finishing runners-up to their arch-rivals. And their aspirations of Champions League football were dashed back in August when they lost a qualifying series to Sweden’s Malmo.
“We’ve been through so many ups and downs this season,” semifinal hero John Lundstram told UEFA.com. “But to come through it and reach a Europa League final, wow. It’s my best night by a country mile.
The 49,000 who turned Ibrox into a cauldron at the final whistle would surely concur.
Rangers will face Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on May 18. Presently 11th in the Bundesliga, Die Adler won’t have any European football next season unless they win, which would propel them straight into the Champions League.
It’s hard to think of a club, or a fanbase, more excited for the spectacle.
After being held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona in the first leg of their quarter-final, more than 30,000 Frankfurt supporters helped their side to an unlikely 3-2 win at Camp Nou. Then, in the opening match of their semifinal against West Ham, their sizeable, raucous travelling contingent had to be escorted by police to London Stadium.
Unfortunately, it all got rather out of hand this week when a pair of Hammers supporters were knocked unconscious in pre-match confrontations that resulted in 30 arrests and the use of water cannon by police. Then, after West Ham manager David Moyes and left-back Aaron Cresswell were ejected from the second leg, the home fans stormed the pitch to celebrate their 1-0 win.
“Germany becomes an Eintracht fan,” crowed Friday’s edition of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Police use water cannon to stop 1,000 Eintracht Frankfurt thugs,” retorted The Sun.
While Wednesday’s Champions League showdown between Real Madrid and Manchester City might well have been one of the best matches of the season, a lot of football happened on Thursday. A lot of very good football, heavy with storylines and emotion, late winners and, yes, violence.
The Conference matters. The Europa League matters. Prestige is for the fancy. This is football that makes you feel.
Twitter @JerradPeters
