Cyriel Dessers and Feyenoord fought a good fight but were unable to clinch the maiden UEFA European Conference League title.
The 27-year-old Nigerian striker will end the tournament with its first ever highest goal scorer award for his ten goals scored in the competition. But it was not his night as he was isolated in attack for most of the game and did not register a single shot at goal.
After an intense night of fighting against a Mourinho-trained defence, unfortunately, his side left the Air Stadium in Tirana, capital city of Albania, empty handed.
Mourinho sets personal record
Jose Mourinho became the first manager to win all of Europe's competitions, having won the UEFA Europa League twice (one of those wins was when it was called the UEFA Cup) with FC Porto and Manchester United, the UEFA Champions League with Porto and Internazionale, and now, the Conference League with AS Roma.
Dessers and Feyenoord were denied history. A win against Roma would have capped an amazing season for the Belgian-born Nigerian striker, whose future at De Kuip is still uncertain. For Feyenoord, it would have made them the first team to win all three European trophies.
They, however, had the incredible record of Jose Mourinho to beat, which proved an uphill battle as the Portuguese manager won another European final by a lone goal from Nicolo Zaniolo.
Super Eagles camp opens in America
Dessers will now turn his attention to his international duties, having been called up for only the second time since switching nationalities to Nigeria.
He will be doing so under new manager Jose Peseiro, who is welcoming the invited players as they begin resuming at the camp on Thursday ahead of their first friendly game against Mexico on May 29.
So far, thirteen players have resumed camp: Adewale Adeyinka, Ojo Olorunleke, Chiamaka Madu, Rafiu Ishaq, Victor Mbaoma, Ibrahim Buhari, Sanni Faisal, vice captain William Troost-Ekong, Moses Simon, Semi Ajayi, Ola Aina and Babatunde Bello.
Seventeen players, including Dessers are still expected to team up with the squad in the United States as Nigeria prepare for their 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Mauritius.
They face Mexico on May 29, before tackling Ecuador on June 3. Their path to Cote d'Ivoire 2023 begins at Abuja six days after the Ecuador game against Sierra Leone.
Dessers will hope his form has pleaded his case enough to get a good run in the team.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
