Last updated on July 8th, 2022 at 10:17 am
AS Roma won their first major European trophy in more than 60 years with a 1-0 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Europa Conference League final in Albania on Wednesday, thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo’s first-half goal.
After bringing the ball down off his chest and steering it home with a left-footed touch in the 32nd minute, Roma were the first winners of European football’s new third-tier club competition, which was established this season.
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Jose Mourinho became the first manager to win a European trophy with four different teams when Roma held off a strong comeback from their Dutch opponents, who were twice denied by the woodwork in the second half.
Feyenoord goalkeeper Rui Patricio made crucial saves as Feyenoord took the game to Roma, dominating possession but looking susceptible to the counter-attack.
“Now we have a lot to rejoice,” Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini remarked. “But then we have to keep moving forward.” A true team triumphs and then comes back even stronger.
“At the age of 25, I never would’ve anticipated achieving this with the Roma jersey and captain’s armband,” he remarked. It’s a fantastic time.”
50,000 supporters watched the game on big screens at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, in addition to the few thousand Roma fans inside the modest National Arena in Tirana. The Olimpico’s fans rejoiced on the pitch after the final whistle, waving banners and screaming the team’s songs.
Before the final, there were violent riots in Tirana between fans of both sides, and hundreds were deported back to Italy.
On Tuesday in the city, two groups of Dutch and Italian supporters battled with police, hurting 19 cops and five Albanian civilians. A knife attack on a police officer resulted in one officer being hurt, according to authorities. Three Italians and two Dutch fans were also injured during the match.
After an apparent incident on the side where Dutch fans were sitting, flares were thrown onto the field and stewards removed a few fans before kickoff.
After the kickoff, the situation appeared to be under control.
Zaniolo’s goal was set up by a ball over the top from Gianluca Mancini, which he handled with his chest. With the tip of his boot, Zaniolo poked the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Justin Bigelow.
“Stupendous. “Let’s take advantage of this opportunity,” Zaniolo added, nodding to the Roma supporters. “I don’t know how to put it into words. “It’s all for them,” says the narrator.
Zaniolo has been dubbed “Italy’s most talented young player” on numerous occasions. However, he has been hampered by two significant knee injuries, one of which kept him out for the whole 2017 season and prevented him from participating in the Azzurri’s European Championship triumph.
Zaniolo became the youngest Italian player to score in a European final at 22 years and 327 days, surpassing Alessandro Del Piero’s goal for Juventus in a loss to Borussia Dortmund in the 1997 Champions League final at 22 years and 200 days.
Zaniolo, an attacking midfielder, scored five goals and added three assists in ten Conference League appearances.
Mourinho motioned for his ecstatic bench players to rest and settle down after Zaniolo’s score, considering how much time was left.
After the break, Feyenoord came out firing, hitting the post twice in quick succession, the first with a close-range effort from Gernot Trauner and the second with a long-range bomb from Tyrell Malacia that Patricio palmed off the upright.
Mourinho won the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League finals with Porto, the 2010 Champions League final with Internazionale, and the 2017 Europa League final with Manchester United, extending his perfect record in European finals to five trophies in five matches.
Mourinho leaped up and down in ecstasy after the final whistle, holding out five fingers to represent his five European crowns.
It was a typical Mourinho encounter in which he took an early lead before defending, defending, defending.
“We know we’re terrific at protecting when we take the lead,” Mancini added. “You have to defend till the very last second in games like these.”
Roma had lost both of their previous continental finals, losing to domestic rival Inter in the 1991 UEFA Cup and losing a penalty shootout to Liverpool in their home stadium in the 1984 European Cup final.
“This is truly a prize for the Friedkin’s,” Roma sports director Tiago Pinto remarked, alluding to the club’s American owners. “It won’t be the only award,” says the narrator.