“Mentality beats talent”: proud Servette coach after draw against Mourinho’s Roma

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Servette is making the European winter in the Europa League. The team from Calvinstadt secured third place in the Europa League in a beautiful setting at the Stade de Genève on Thursday evening – thanks to an impressive 1-1 draw against Mourinho’s star team from AS Roma. This means that Servette can play in the knockout phase of the Conference League in the spring of 2024. For the first time since the 2015/16 season (Basel and Sion), two Swiss clubs have survived a European group stage thanks to YB and the Grenats.

He was “very proud” of the performance, says René Weiler (50) after the match. “If you compare this game with the one we played in Rome (0:4, editor’s note), you can see the progress.” Although the final group match against Slavia Prague in two weeks will no longer have any mathematical significance, they now travel to the Czech Republic with the intention of winning.

After the winter break, the team from Geneva awaits at least one more European home match. A prospect that Weiler is particularly happy with. “It would be extraordinary to fill this stadium again. Evenings like these shape us,” says the Winterthur resident.

Mourinho grits his teeth

At the other end of the emotional scale is José Mourinho (60) after the match. The Portuguese is visibly annoyed by the performance of his team. He especially hated the ‘superficial attitude’ of certain players.

‘I really don’t understand. I coached 150 matches in the Champions League, which were of much greater importance. And yet my motivation for these competitions here is extremely high.” But not all his players can say that, he thinks: “Unfortunately, it seems that some players with less international experience are taking these matches lightly.”

“Mentality beats talent”

Despite being behind after the first half, the Genevans think they have a chance. And they really irritate the favored Romans in the second round. “The boys came back on the field very positively and deserved the equalizer,” said Weiler. He is especially proud of the mentality his players showed.

«I often say that mentality wins over talent. The team has made great mental strides since the start of the season,” the coach explains. Now it’s time for Servette to recover and prepare for Sunday’s away match in Bern.

The in-form Geneva side, who recently won the competition seven times in a row, now head into the top-flight battle in Wankdorf with even more confidence following their Europa League success. YB has been warned.

Source : Blick