Emotional Mourinho 'shed a tear' as Roma reach Europa Conference League final

Tammy Abraham's first-half header seals 1-0 win and a championship match against Feyenoord on May 25

Roma's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho (L) speaks to Roma's French midfielder Jordan Veretout during the UEFA Conference League semi-final second leg football match between AS Roma and Leicester City at The Olympic Stadium in Rome, on May 5, 2022. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)

Roma coach Jose Mourinho reacts after the final whistle. Roma's 1-0 win secured a place in the May 25 Europa Conference League final. AFP

Roma's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho. AFP

Tammy Abraham and Sergio Oliveira of AS Roma celebrate. Getty Images

Tammy Abraham of AS Roma battles for possession with James Justin and Jonny Evans of Leicester City. Getty Images

Roma's Tammy Abraham celebrates after the match. Reuters

Roma forward Tammy Abraham in action. AFP

Roma forward Tammy Abraham fights for the ball with Leicester's Jonny Evans and Wesley Fofana. AFP

Wesley Fofana of Leicester City looks dejected at the final whistle. Getty Images

Ayoze Perez of Leicester City battles for possession with Gianluca Mancini of Roma. Getty Images

Nicolo Zaniolo of Roma is tackled by Jonny Evans of Leicester City. Getty Images

An emotional Jose Mourinho likened Roma booking a place in this month's Europa League Conference final as "our Champions League".

A first-half header from Tammy Abraham gave Roma a 1-0 win over Leicester City at Stadio Olimpico and a 2-1 victory on aggregate to send them through to the inaugural Europa Conference League final on May 25, where they will face Feyenoord.

"This is a giant club without the trophy room in relation to the social dimension of the club. So, this is not a trophy, it's only the final but it means a lot for them," said Mourinho.

"Of course I have had bigger moments than this, but I am not feeling for myself, I am feeling for the people and my players. This for us, is our Champions League."

Mourinho, who took over at Roma in May last year, was in tears as he embraced his coaching staff after the win.

"I shed a tear because my emotion was for everyone who loves this club," said Mourinho, who has now reached five European finals with four clubs, having won all his previous ones with Porto, Inter Milan and Manchester United.

"I've had the fortune to play more prestigious finals than this one. But in terms of the way we've created a family atmosphere here, it makes me feel special."

Roma vs Leicester ratings

ROMA RATINGS: Rui Patricio 6 – Didn’t have a save to make until the 79th minute, when he first made a comfortable stop to deny a Maddison free-kick, and then reacted to deny Iheanacho’s curling effort. Reuters

Roger Ibanez 7 – His firmness in the tackle encapsulated Roma’s miserly defensive approach, which gave Leicester very little room to manoeuvre in the attacking third. EPA

Chris Smalling 8 – Was a threat at both ends early on; making a crucial block to deny Tielemans in the opening minutes and heading narrowly over from a corner at the other. Headed over again in the second half. Did a brilliant job at keeping Jamie Vardy quiet. Getty Images

Gianluca Mancini 7 – An immense defensive performance from the 26-year-old, complete with his customary yellow card. Getty Images

Rick Karsdorp 7 – Brilliant on Roma’s right-hand side, forming part of an intense resistance that kept Leicester at bay and restricted the visitors to long-range efforts. Getty Images

Bryan Cristante 7 – Enjoyed a fascinating tussle with James Maddison, and he gave the Leicester schemer very little time and space on the ball. Reuters

Sergio Oliveira 6 – Saw a late effort saved by Schmeichel, which gifted his side a corner in the dying moments of the game. Getty Images

Lorenzo Pellegrini 7 – Had Roma’s first attempt on goal with a free-kick and forced Schmeichel down to his right. Came close again with a half volley, but once again found Schmeichel in his way. Linked well with Abraham from set pieces. AFP

Nicola Zalewski 8 – A lively and consistent performance throughout, and he was cheered every time he touched the ball in the opening exchanges. Roma tried to get him the ball as much as possible, with good reason. Was given a standing ovation when he was replaced. AFP

Nicolo Zaniolo 7 – The forward was an obvious target for Roma, and his side’s quick passing enabled him to get forward. He was a driving force all evening, though his closest effort was blocked by Fofana. EPA

Tammy Abraham 9 – The former Chelsea man combined some good centre-forward play with neat touches throughout. He climbed highest to meet Pellegrini’s outswinging corner to head the hosts into the lead, his ninth goal of the competition, and his 25th in total this season. Getty Images

SUBS: Jordan Veretout (Zaniolo, 78) N/A – With Zaniolo tiring, Mourinho added a more defensive presence to try and close the game out. AFP

Matias Vina (Zalewski, 84) N/A – Came on the left flank and his fresh legs added some stability late on. Reuters

Eldor Shomurodov (Abraham, 88) – His first contribution was a foul on Amartey, which was the perfect way to slow the game down. AP Photo

LEICESTER RATINGS: Kasper Schmeichel 6 – Made two saves to deny Pellegrini in the first half but could do little to stop Abraham’s powerful header. Was quiet thereafter. Getty Images

Ricardo Pereira 4 – Was guilty of losing out to Abraham on the opening goal, though in his defence, given he’s 15cm shorter than Abraham, he perhaps shouldn’t have been marking him. AFP

Jonny Evans 5 – Held the back line well but didn’t have much to do. AFP

Roma's British forward Tammy Abraham (L) fights for the ball with Leicester's French]defender Wesley Fofana during the UEFA Conference League semi-final second leg football match between AS Roma and Leicester City at The Olympic Stadium in Rome, on May 5, 2022. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)

James Justin 6 – Had very little opportunity to get forward as Roma dominated the flanks, until Leicester moved to a back three. Had to wait until the 70th minute for some space, but his cross was too high for Vardy. PA

Youri Tielemans 5 – A very quiet evening in which he did little wrong, he simply couldn’t influence the game at all. PA

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 5 – Left his shooting boots at home. In the first half, he won the ball back on one occasion after giving it away, and sent an effort narrowly over the bar. In the second, he had one run at goal before dragging an effort wide of the post. PA

James Maddison 5 – Was forced to drop deep to get the ball, but he was targeted throughout and had very little time to create. Had one forward run just before half-time, and a free-kick after the break, which was comfortably saved. Getty Images

Ademola Lookman 5 – Had to wait until the 43rd minute to get his first bit of space in the Roma half, but even then, he was closed down pretty quickly. Substituted at the break. EPA

Harvey Barnes 4 – Saw very little of the ball in the first half and was on the periphery throughout. Couldn’t seem to get hold of the ball. Getty Images

Jamie Vardy 4 – Got very little change from Smalling, who made it an isolated evening for the Foxes striker. He had one sight of goal all evening, and his subsequent shot was blocked by Abraham. AFP

SUBS: Daniel Amartey (Lookman, 46) 4 – Guilty of playing the ball sideways or backwards when what Leicester needed was forward impetus. AP Photo

Kelechi Iheanacho (Barnes, 46) 5 – Forced Patricio into a save with a left-footed effort, but he couldn’t trouble the Roma custodian. Getty Images

Timothy Castagne (Pereira, 69) 6 – Made a good block to deny Zalewski 10 minutes after coming on. AFP

Ayoze Perez (Dewsbury-Hall, 77) N/A – Showed some neat touches as he looked to change the game but was unable to open Roma’s back line. Getty Images

Leicester counterpart Brendan Rodgers urged his players to harness their pain to build again.

He said: “It’s a young team and learning all the time, this is a level a lot of them have never been to. It’s only natural but the guys will learn and it’s another experience. It’s a tough one when you lose but it’s important to learn from it.

“It’s been a great journey for us. The players will learn and gain a lot of experience from it. Nights like tonight will stay with them and give them that motivation going forward.

“The players will feel the experiences of the last couple of years. We can regroup in the summer, feelings of tonight will provide a great motivation and when you have more coaching time it gives you a chance to push on.”

Feyenoord secured a first European final in two decades after holding Marseille to a 0-0 draw in France to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

The Dutch club made good their victory in the first leg last week in Rotterdam to set up a final clash with Roma on May 25 in the Albanian capital Tirana, 250 kilometres away from where Feyenoord began their campaign against Drita of Kosovo in the qualifying rounds last July.

"When you see where we have come from, how the season began, the way the team has progressed, it's magnificent," said Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu.

"We will make history if we win."