Jose Mourinho, the manager of Roma, has explained why he did not celebrate his team’s victory over Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League semi-final second leg.
The Italians won the first leg 1-0 in Rome and held on to a 0-0 stalemate in Germany on Thursday night.
In June, Roma will meet Sevilla in the final of Europe’s second tier league in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mourinho chose not to celebrate with a celebratory run on the field as a tribute to Alonso, whom he managed at Real Madrid.
Mourinho led the Italian side to the Europa Conference League title last season and is currently in the Europa League final.
The Portuguese remarked of his decision not to rejoice,
“No,It’s not a lack of agility.
“To be honest, it’s very difficult for me to compete against my friends because, while you may forget during the game, it’s difficult afterwards.”
“I don’t like celebrating in front of my guys, and Xabi, who is doing an outstanding job out there, is one of mine.” That is why I am struggling.”
