Nicolo Zaniolo led Roma to their first major continental title with a 1-0 victory over Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League final in Tirana on Wednesday.
After suffering a defeat in the 1984 European Cup final and missing out on UEFA Cup glory seven years later, the Serie A side were not to be denied an elusive European triumph and lifted their first trophy since the Coppa Italia in 2008.
Zaniolo, who missed the entire 2020-21 season after suffering a second ACL injury in under a year, dinked in an exemplary finish in the 32nd minute to put Roma in charge.
Feyenoord upped their game after the restart and were denied by the woodwork twice in three minutes, but Jose Mourinho’s men tightened up and saw out a famous victory.
The meeting between the competition’s two most prolific sides was bereft of goalmouth action for much of the first half, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s withdrawal due to injury the most notable event in the opening half hour.
Roma moved in front with the first real chance of the match, though, as Zaniolo brought down Gianluca Mancini’s excellent delivery with his chest and stabbed an instinctive finish home.
Feyenoord made a bright start to the second half and Mancini diverted a fizzed low cross onto the near post of his own goal before Rui Patricio parried Guus Til’s follow-up behind.
Patricio produced a stunning stop in the 50th minute when he tipped a ferocious 20-yard drive from Tyrell Malacia onto the woodwork.
Justin Bijlow denied Jordan Veretout and Lorenzo Pellegrini as Roma tried to get a second on the break, but Bryan Linssen was unable to connect with Cyriel Dessers’ flick-on in stoppage time on a painful evening for Feyenoord.
What does it mean? History for Mourinho
Roma’s only previous success on the continent came in the 1960-61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was not affiliated with UEFA.
By leading Roma to the Conference League title, Mourinho became the first coach to win a major European trophy with four different clubs.
The Portuguese won the UEFA Cup and Champions League with Porto, the Champions League while at Inter, and the Europa League during his time at Manchester United.
Patricio to the rescue
The second half could have played out very differently had Patricio not made a couple of key saves from Til and Malacia. He made five stops in total, making his contribution pivotal.
Abraham kept quiet
Although he scored nine goals in the competition this season, Abraham’s display in the final was disappointing. He was regularly isolated and failed to register a single shot on target.