A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE FINAL:
The final of the inaugural Europa Conference League features two established clubs, with Roma facing Feyenoord in Albania’s capital Tirana. Up to 100,000 Italian and Dutch supporters are expected in Tirana even though each club has been allocated only 4,000 tickets, sparking concerns about possible fan violence. Capacity at the National Arena is only about 20,000. Feyenoord fans clashed with Italian police and damaged a historic fountain by the Spanish Steps ahead of a Europa League game at Roma in 2015 — raising the possibility of retaliatory acts.
In his first season at Roma, José Mourinho will be coaching in the fifth European final of his career. He has won all four that he’s participated in so far, over a span of nearly two decades: the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League finals with Porto; the 2010 Champions League final with Inter Milan; and the 2017 Europa League final with Manchester United.
It will be Roma’s first European final since losing the 1991 UEFA Cup trophy to domestic rival Inter Milan. Roma also lost a penalty shootout against Liverpool in the 1984 European Cup final in its home stadium. The only European trophy Roma has won came in 1961 in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup — a tournament considered to be the precursor to the UEFA Cup and Europa League.
Dutch side Feyenoord is bidding to make it four wins out of four in major UEFA finals, its first three having brought victories in the 1970 European Cup and the 1974 and 2002 UEFA Cups. The final also features the competition’s top two scorers, with Feyenoord’s Cyriel Dessers having compiled 10 goals, one more than Roma’s Tammy Abraham.
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