Perhaps the story should have ended in Budapest. There had been speculation leading up to the Europa League final last May that it could be José Mourinho’s final week in charge of Roma. There were echoes of his previous time working for an Italian club, in 2010, when he led Internazionale to the treble in his second season then left to join Real Madrid immediately after winning the Champions League.
He had not touched quite those same heights at Roma, but this was a different context. By claiming the inaugural Europa Conference League in his first season at the club Mourinho had already ended a 14‑year wait for silverware. To follow up in season two by lifting the Europa League would have been an extraordinary achievement with a side whose previous biggest continental success was winning the 1961 Inter-City Fairs Cup.
