Mourinho downplays Sevilla fear factor | The Express Tribune
[ad_1]
BUDAPEST: Jose Mourinho said Tuesday that "history does not play" as he prepares his Roma team to face Europa League specialists Sevilla in the final in Budapest. The Italian side, who can finish no higher than fifth in Serie A, meet the six-time winners at the Puskas Arena, just 12 months after they won the inaugural Europa Conference League. Mourinho said Roma deserved to be in the showpiece match in the Hungarian capital after an arduous journey. "It has been a long journey, different from our opponents, who dropped into this competition from the Champions League," he told his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. Mourinho said he was aware of the Spanish club's perfect record in finals in Europe's second-tier competition – they have won all six they have played. But the Portuguese coach downplayed the relevance of that achievement. "History does not play," he said. "My colleague (Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar)