2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final

The 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final was the final match of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, the first season of Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was played on 25 May 2022 at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania,[5][6] between Italian club Roma and Dutch club Feyenoord.

2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final
Match programme cover
Event2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
Date25 May 2022 (2022-05-25)
VenueArena Kombëtare, Tirana
Man of the MatchChris Smalling (Roma)[1]
RefereeIstván Kovács (Romania)[2]
Attendance19,597[3]
WeatherSunny
23 °C (73 °F)
51% humidity[4]
2023

Roma won the match 1–0 to secure the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League title, the first club from Italy to win a UEFA competition in 12 years.[7][8][9] As they had already qualified for the group stage of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League via their domestic league performance, that competition's access list was rebalanced, with Feyenoord qualifying for the group stage instead of play-off round as the third place in the 2021–22 Eredivisie. If Roma had not qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League through their league performance, they would have received a place in the Europa League group stage instead.

Venue

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The Arena Kombëtare in Tirana hosted the final.

The match was the first UEFA competition final to be played in Albania. The 21,690-seat Arena Kombëtare is the home stadium of the Albania national team, as well as clubs Dinamo Tirana and Partizani. Construction of the stadium began in 2016[10] and was completed by November 2019.[11]

Host selection

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A bidding process was launched by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022 and 2023. Associations interested in hosting one of the finals had until 20 February 2020 to submit bid dossiers.

Bidding associations for 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final
Country Stadium City Capacity Notes
  Albania Arena Kombëtare Tirana 22,500 Bid for 2019 and 2020 UEFA Super Cup
  France Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Saint-Étienne 41,965 Hosted matches at UEFA Euro 1984 and 2016, 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
  Greece Pankritio Stadium Heraklion 26,240 Hosted matches at 2004 Olympic football tournament
  North Macedonia Toše Proeski Arena Skopje 33,460 Hosted 2017 UEFA Super Cup

Arena Kombëtare was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2020.[12][13][6][14]

Background

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A graffito in honour of Jose Mourinho in the streets of Rome

This was Roma's third final in a major UEFA competition, having lost the 1984 European Cup final to Liverpool and the 1991 UEFA Cup final to fellow Italian club Inter Milan, who were the most recent Italian club to reach a European final – losing in the 2020 UEFA Europa League final.[15] Roma was seeking to win their first trophy since the 2007–08 Coppa Italia, and a first European title for an Italian side since Inter won the 2010 UEFA Champions League final. Their head coach José Mourinho, having become the first manager to reach European finals with four different clubs – including the aforementioned 2010 Champions League final, was seeking to become only the third manager – after Udo Lattek and Giovanni Trapattoni – to have won all three existing major European trophies, and the first to achieve the UEFA treble by winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League (in place of the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup).[16]

This was Feyenoord's fourth final in a major UEFA competition, having won the 1970 European Cup final and both the 1974 and 2002 UEFA Cup finals. The first Dutch club to reach a European final since Ajax lost the 2017 UEFA Europa League final to Mourinho's Manchester United and the most recent to win a European title, they were seeking to join Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United as the only clubs to have won all three existing major European trophies, and the first to achieve the UEFA treble by winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League (again in place of the Cup Winners' Cup). Their head coach Arne Slot was seeking to become the first Dutch to win a European trophy since Dick Advocaat with Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup.[17][16]

The two sides previously met twice in European competitions, in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League round of 32, with Roma won one and drew one.[18]

Route to the final

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Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

  Roma Round   Feyenoord
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Bye Second qualifying round   Drita 3–2 0–0 (A) 3–2 (H)
Third qualifying round   Luzern 6–0 3–0 (A) 3–0 (H)
  Trabzonspor 5–1 2–1 (A) 3–0 (H) Play-off round   IF Elfsborg 6–3 5–0 (H) 1–3 (A)
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
  CSKA Sofia 5–1 (H) Matchday 1   Maccabi Haifa 0–0 (A)
  Zorya Luhansk 3–0 (A) Matchday 2   Slavia Prague 2–1 (H)
  Bodø/Glimt 1–6 (A) Matchday 3   Union Berlin 3–1 (H)
  Bodø/Glimt 2–2 (H) Matchday 4   Union Berlin 2–1 (A)
  Zorya Luhansk 4–0 (H) Matchday 5   Slavia Prague 2–2 (A)
  CSKA Sofia 3–2 (A) Matchday 6   Maccabi Haifa 2–1 (H)
Group C winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Roma 6 13
2   Bodø/Glimt 6 12
3   Zorya Luhansk 6 7
4   CSKA Sofia 6 1
Source: UEFA
Final standings Group E winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Feyenoord 6 14
2   Slavia Prague 6 8
3   Union Berlin 6 7
4   Maccabi Haifa 6 4
Source: UEFA
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
  Vitesse 2–1 1–0 (A) 1–1 (H) Round of 16   Partizan 8–3 5–2 (A) 3–1 (H)
  Bodø/Glimt 5–2 1–2 (A) 4–0 (H) Quarter-finals   Slavia Prague 6–4 3–3 (H) 3–1 (A)
  Leicester City 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H) Semi-finals   Marseille 3–2 3–2 (H) 0–0 (A)

Pre-match

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Identity

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The logo of the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 27 August 2021 in Istanbul.[citation needed]

Ambassador

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The ambassador for the final was former Albanian international Lorik Cana.[citation needed]

Officials

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Romanian referee István Kovács officiated the final.

On 11 May 2022, UEFA announced Romanian István Kovács, a FIFA referee since 2010, would officiate the final. Kovács officiated six matches in the 2021–22 Champions League, three matches in the 2021–22 Europa League and one group stage fixture in the 2021–22 Europa Conference League season. He served as a referee at UEFA Euro 2020, where he officiated one group stage match. He also was a referee at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was joined by his fellow countrymen Vasile Marinescu and Ovidiu Artene as assistant referees. Sandro Schärer of Switzerland served as the fourth official, while German Marco Fritz was appointed as the video assistant referee. Fritz's compatriots Christian Dingert and Bastian Dankert served as the assistant and support VAR officials, respectively.[2]

Match

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Details

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The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.

Roma  1–0  Feyenoord
  • Zaniolo   32'
Report
Attendance: 19,597[3]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Roma[4]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Feyenoord[4]
GK 1   Rui Patrício   84'
CB 23   Gianluca Mancini
CB 6   Chris Smalling
CB 3   Roger Ibañez
DM 77   Henrikh Mkhitaryan   17'
DM 4   Bryan Cristante
RM 2   Rick Karsdorp   89'
LM 59   Nicola Zalewski   66'   67'
AM 22   Nicolò Zaniolo   67'
AM 7   Lorenzo Pellegrini (c)   37'
CF 9   Tammy Abraham   89'
Substitutes:
GK 87   Daniel Fuzato
DF 5   Matías Viña   89'
DF 15   Ainsley Maitland-Niles
DF 24   Marash Kumbulla
DF 37   Leonardo Spinazzola   90+4'   67'
MF 17   Jordan Veretout   67'
MF 27   Sérgio Oliveira   17'
MF 52   Edoardo Bove
FW 11   Carles Pérez
FW 14   Eldor Shomurodov   89'
FW 64   Felix Afena-Gyan
FW 92   Stephan El Shaarawy
Other disciplinary actions:
TS   Salvatore Foti[19]   59'
Manager:
  José Mourinho
 
GK 1   Justin Bijlow (c)
RB 3   Lutsharel Geertruida
CB 18   Gernot Trauner   25'   74'
CB 4   Marcos Senesi
LB 5   Tyrell Malacia   88'
CM 26   Guus Til   59'
CM 17   Fredrik Aursnes
CM 10   Orkun Kökçü   88'
RF 14   Reiss Nelson   74'
CF 33   Cyriel Dessers
LF 7   Luis Sinisterra
Substitutes:
GK 16   Valentin Cojocaru
GK 21   Ofir Marciano
GK 30   Thijs Jansen
DF 2   Marcus Holmgren Pedersen   74'
DF 13   Philippe Sandler
DF 25   Ramon Hendriks
DF 32   Denzel Hall
MF 6   Jorrit Hendrix
MF 28   Jens Toornstra   59'
FW 9   Alireza Jahanbakhsh   88'
FW 11   Bryan Linssen   74'
FW 23   Patrik Wålemark   88'
Manager:
  Arne Slot

Man of the Match:
Chris Smalling (Roma)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Vasile Marinescu (Romania)
Ovidiu Artene (Romania)
Fourth official:[2]
Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
Video assistant referee:[2]
Marco Fritz (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referee:[2]
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Support video assistant referee:[2]
Bastian Dankert (Germany)

Match rules[20]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[note 1]

Statistics

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Smalling named official UEFA Europa Conference League final Laufenn Player of the Match". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Referee teams appointed for 2022 UEFA club competition finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Full Time Summary Final – Roma v Feyenoord" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 25 May 2022" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ^ "UEFA Europa Conference League: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Tirana to host first UEFA Europa Conference League Final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Roma 1 Feyenoord 0". BBC Sport. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Roma 1–0 Feyenoord: Zaniolo strike wins the first Europa Conference League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Roma 1-0 Feyenoord: Europa Conference League final – as it happened!". Guardian. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Fillon zyrtarisht prishja e stadiumit Qemal Stafa" [The demolition of Qemal Stafa Stadium has officially begun] (in Albanian). Albanian Public Television. Albanian Public Television. 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  11. ^ "2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final: Tirana". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. ^ "EPO plans to submit bid to host UEFA Europa Conference League final". AGONAsport. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  13. ^ "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for December meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Tirana to stage first Europa Conference League final in 2022". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Roma-Leicester | UEFA Europa Conference League 2021/22". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 May 2022.
  16. ^ a b "UEFA Europa Conference League final: Roma vs Feyenoord". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Marseille-Feyenoord | UEFA Europa Conference League 2021/22". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 May 2022.
  18. ^ "UEFA Europa Conference League: Final head-to-head records". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Roma-Feyenoord 1–0: Zaniolo regala ai giallorossi la Conference League" [Roma-Feyenoord 1-0: Zaniolo gives the Giallorossi the Conference League]. ForzaRoma.info (in Italian). RCS MediaGroup. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2024. 59': Giallo per Foti per proteste nella panchina della Roma. Poco prima il Feyenoord ancora pericoloso dalla sinistra: Kocku arriva al tiro, Smalling in scivolata salva [59 minutes: A yellow for Foti for protesting on the Roma bench. Shortly before that Feyenoord were still dangerous from the left: Kökçü got in a shot, Smalling saved with a slide.]
  20. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League, 2021/22 Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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