José Mourinho says he ‘will die and never forget’ the 2022-23 Europa League Final his Roma side lost against Sevilla and insists he has no problems with Victor Osimhen: ‘But he dives too much.’
Fenerbahce coach Mourinho released an extended interview with Turkish media HT Spor, where he discussed several things related to Italian football.
Evidently, he still hasn’t forgotten about the 2022-23 Europa League Final that his Roma side lost against Sevilla, especially after a recent referee controversy that saw his Fenerbahce side eliminated from the Champions League playoff in August.
“UEFA is UEFA. Referees are referees. I have zero problems with UEFA. To be honest, I have a good relationship with the president, very respectful,” said the Portuguese coach.
“The reality is that VAR and the referee decided that I couldn’t win that [Europa League] Final. It’s a kid of penalty that one million people will all say it’s a huge penalty. It’s also true that against Lille, it was a strange penalty given by VAR at the last minute after two hours of fighting, but I will die and never forget that final with Roma.”
Mourinho was so furious after that Europa League Final with Roma that he even waited for English referee Anthony Taylor inside the stadium parking to insult him, receiving a four-match ban for European matches.
Mourinho will cross paths with Napoli loanee Osimhen this season as the Nigerian ace has joined Fenerbahce’s rivals Galatasaray on a temporary transfer this summer.
Mou had already complained about Osimhen’s attitude on the pitch last season during a Serie A match between Roma and Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico.
“Osimhen is a fantastic player. If I was in a club with the potential to pay €70-75m, I would buy him,” the coach said in his latest interview.
“He’s a fantastic player. Of course, he comes in different circumstances, but in the end, it doesn’t matter; what matters is that Galatasaray has a fantastic player. I don’t have problems with Victor, in fact we have a very good relation. But every time I play against him, I speak with him because I don’t like the way he behaves. He dives too much, and I had this conversation with him the last time we played Roma vs Napoli. I told him: ‘Look, you are one of the two best African players, it’s you and Salah. In the past, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, George Weah. He can’t behave like this.
“He dives too much, and that’s my problem with him, but after 10 minutes, we are fine. We have a good relationship, and for the Turkish league, it’s fantastic, and for Galatasaray, he’s fantastic too.”
Mourinho recently welcomed another Serie A player, Filip Kostic, who has moved to Fenerbahce on loan from Juventus.
“He will play where the team needs. That’s our philosophy. Only the club matters and only the team matters,” said Mourinho.
“Kostic came because we sold an incredible creative left-back and we were in a situation where we missed a point in there. He can play with a back three or back four. He can play wing-back, left-back, left-winger, and even, with some education, midfield on the left side. He gives us a lot of solutions; he’s an experienced guy with a competitive mentality. It closes our squad well with a good balance and options in every position. I am very happy with what the club did.”
