Jose Mourinho had no interest in keeping his Europa League runners-up medal after Roma were beaten by Sevilla in Wednesday’s final and tossed it to a young fan in the crowd. The Portuguese coach gathered the players together for a passionate speech before leaving the squad and walking by himself over to the trophy presentation to claim his medal. He then walked over to the Roma dugout and threw the medal to a young fan in the crowd, with supporters applauding the gesture, before heading straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.
The Italian side had taken a first-half lead in Budapest through Paulo Dybala – who had been an injury doubt before the game – with the Argentine played clean through and slotting past goalkeeper Bono. An own goal from Gianluca Mancini at the start of the second half evened things up, with neither team able to find a breakthrough as the match went to extra time and then penalties. In the shootout, Morocco’s Bono made two excellent saves to deny both Mancini and Roger Ibanez before Argentina’s World Cup hero Gonzalo Montiel netted the winning spot-kick after a dramatic retake.
The defeat marks the first time Mourinho has lost a European final, having won the previous five, and he looked crestfallen when Sevilla’s winning penalty hit the back of the net. He brought his players together in a huddle and spoke to them at length, and could be heard saying: ‘You played a great game. All of Europe saw you.’ The self-proclaimed Special One seemed to be holding back tears at the end of the game, with increasing speculation linking the 60-year-old with a switch to French champions Paris Saint-Germain this summer. Mourinho did not hang around to watch his Roma players claim their own runners-up medals, nor did he return from the dressing room to watch Sevilla lift the trophy.