Mourinho: “The biggest match of the season for Roma too”

The Slavia coach said this is the biggest match of the season for them. How important is it for you?

“For me the biggest match is the next one. Always. Throughout my professional life, the biggest match has always been the next one. In this case we're even: it's the biggest match of the season for him and for me.”

Do you expect tomorrow to be tougher than the reverse fixture in Rome?

“Definitely, but in Rome we scored a goal in the first minute and when you core that early it means you can play a different way. We were 2-0 up after 20 minutes and largely in control. But before that match I said – and I reiterate it now – that Slavia are an excellent team. They have quality players and are very well organised both defensively and with the ball. That means they have a good coach.”

“It's a nice stadium and I'm sure there'll be a great atmosphere. We're close to qualifying and while Slavia aren't they are in a strong position compared to Servette and Sheriff. I'm sure it will be a good game.”

You know a bit about Prague. Do you like the city? Are you familiar with Czech players?

“Sadly I know airports, hotels and stadiums all over the world, on every continent. But much less about beautiful cities like Prague. With the life I lead I don't have much time to visit them. But everyone knows what a beautiful city Prague is.

“There have been lots of great players from the Czech Republic and I've coached a few of them myself, including one of the best goalkeepers of all time [Petr Cech]. I didn't spend long at Benfica but Karel [Poborsky] was there and he's a fantastic player. There have been others as well, like [Jiri] Jarosik.”

Do you remember the European Super Cup you lost here against Bayern Munich with Chelsea?

“Yes, I remember. But I drew. I didn't lose. Playing for the best part of an hour with ten men. It was an excellent game. Then it went to penalties.”

You said this is the biggest match of the season but yesterday Maurizio Sarri said this will be a friendly for Roma. Would you like to comment on that? I also wanted to ask if Riccardo Pagano will make his full debut tomorrow.

“No, Riccardo will start on the bench. He's here as part of his development as a footballer. We all know that, if he keeps his head screwed on, he'll be sat here alongside me in these press conferences many times in future. He's playing a lot. Last year he was an academy kid and I'm sure his delighted with how he's coming along. We're really happy with him. And tomorrow he'll start on the bench.

“As for Sarri, I think if anyone should be offended by his comments it's Slavia, not me. He makes it sound like Slavia aren't a good team.

“I always respect my opponents. I've already said Slavia are an excellent team. Maybe what makes the difference in the career of a coach or a player is the way you approach games. Maybe the difference between a coach who has won 26 trophies and another who's not won much is precisely this mentality – taking every game seriously and not considering any game a friendly.

“I'd like to hear the Lega Serie A's response to what Sarri said because his comments were direct, objective criticism. I'll wait...”

Will you pick your best players or let some of them rest on the bench?

“We'll play all the players who are capable of playing two games in three days. Some of our players are playing every game but we know – and they feel – they're in excellent shape.

“To give you an example, the three defenders who are playing all the time feel good and they'll all play: [Gianluca] Mancini, [Diego] Llorente and [Evan] Ndicka. I'll play [Mire] Svilar instead of Rui Patricio because it's good for his development to play as many games as possible. I'll make one or two other changes but the basic idea is to go with what we feel is the best team.”

Do you think Roma have a better chance of qualifying for the Champions League through Serie A or the Europa League?

“I don't know. I really don't know. We'll try to do it through both routes. We want to do the best we possibly can in Serie A and see if we're able to finish in the top four. And we want to go a long way in Europe for the third season running. We're taking both competitions seriously and we'll see where it takes us.

“We're not going to throw away any options in Italy or Europe. We're going to face difficulties in both competitions, some of which will be due to the accumulation of matches we're going to have, but my mentality has always been that the next game is the most important, and the next competition is the most important.

“Of course, sometimes you protect a player who's not fully fit but I couldn't say I'm not interested in this competition.”