Cyriel Dessers confident they will beat Mourinho's Roma to win the title today

kolawolekazeem

May 25

The 27-year-old Super Eagles striker is feeling confident as he leads his Dutch side to face Jose Mourinho's AS Roma in tonight's Europa Conference League final.

In the Inaugural Europa Conference League, Dessers will be looking to add to his double-digit tally of 10 goals in this competition and fend off the Italian outfit.

"I'm really looking forward to it. Playing finals is all you care about when you're a top sportsman and especially special matches like these against Roma; that goes without saying," Dessers told UEFA.com

"I'm really looking forward to it and I hope it's going to be the greatest game of my life.We are confident. We're not afraid of the big name of Roma. We are aware of our qualities; we know what we can do. We will have to be at our best, that's for sure, but we also know if we are, we can beat almost every team. We know what to expect.

"We are well prepared. If we just do our thing and play our best, everything is possible."

Dessers also spoke on his remarkable 10 goals in 12 games.

"It's a fantastic feeling. To get into double figures as a striker is something you work towards in pre-season. When you can do that in European competition, that's very special. I realise it puts me in a special list of players for this season, [not just] at the European level but also for the club. At Feyenoord, I am moving up the list, which is very rewarding.

"It's because of the team that I can be in that position and score those goals. I don't just mean assists or passes I get from the team, but also defensive [work]. We want to press so high, which means our defenders are often in one-on-one situations or play with a lot of space behind.

"I might be the one cheering after the goal, but it really is the entire team that makes that possible, as cliched as that may sound. I have to be the focal point and be in the right place."

When asked about his style of play, the Feyenord striker who is on-loan from Genk siad "I think I'm an all-round striker. Many strikers are really tall, or really fast, or [have] other extremes. I don't have that. I can play with my back towards the goal, I can hold the ball up, I can run deep towards the goal, I can score with my left and right foot; when I'm in front of the goal, I don't have any doubts about scoring with my left foot, for example. I've also scored some nice goals with my head this season,

"so I think I am quite an all-round player without being extreme in anything. But I can always do better, of course, and that's something I work on very hard every day."

Managers Opinion

Roma were Europa league semi-finalists last year and reached the semi-final of 2017-18 Champions League final. The Giallorossi have only lost two of their previous 10 matches in all competitions, while Feyenord have an incredible unbeaten record in their 12 games so far.

Jose Mourinho has a 100 percent record in European Competition finals and will be testing this record tonight. He will be managing his fifth European final, winning his previous four, 2 with Porto, 1 with Inter Milan and the recent one with Manchester United in 2017.

"I don't believe in magical potions, I don't believe in magical spells," Mourinho said. "There's nothing special to be done, just us to be us as a team. Knowing the qualities we have, knowing the limitations we have.

"The 'Special One' story is an old story. It was when I was at the beginning [of my career]. When you have more maturity and stability, you think more about the people and less about yourself. It's an old story. I don't believe in magic - when you arrive at a final after a season of work, the work is done. It's the team's moment, not the moment of an individual.

"If I win I will become the first one to win all European trophies, but that's only if I win."We arrived at the end of this season's journey with two finals to play in four days," he added, highlighting their 3-0 win over Torino on Friday that guaranteed them a place in the Europa League next season.

"The first one gave us what we deserved and had as our target, which was to play in the Europa League and improve the club's ranking. We managed to win that final and for me that was a final where you couldn't make history: you just finish the season's work and achieve a goal. This, however, is hostory."

Feyenord Manager, Arne Slot, believes that his side are well prepared and ready for everything Jose Mourinho's team want to throw at them as they hope to be the first Dutch team to win an European title since 2002.

"We know what to expect, but you never know. Sometimes their coach has a little twitch in his game plan," Slot said.

"They almost always have the same style of play. It would surprise me if Roma try to play out from the back tomorrow. I expect them to play long balls over the back of our defence."

Team News

The Giallorossi will be delighted to have Nicolo Zaniolo back having shrugged off an injury by featuring from the bench during last Friday's Serie A 3-0 success at Torino.

Sadly, a hamstring injury will keep Henrikh Mkhitaryan sidelined.

Feyenoord's only injury concern is with goalkeeper, Justin Bijlow who has been injured since March. Ofir Marciano will therefore step into the void for the Dutch side.

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