There were scenes of jubilation as José Mourinho and his coaches learned their efforts had been rewarded with Europa League football next season. Tottenham Hotspur reached the Champions League last year before Mauricio Pochettino was given marching orders by Daniel Levy.
A clear sign that people change. Remember The Special One? That stage of Mourinho’s managerial career is long gone and signs of that were clear when he was in charge of Manchester United.
He won the Europa League in his first season at United and will hope to bring some glory to Spurs next term. It’s a good opportunity for them but you’ve got to question such delight from a club that were played the biggest match in European football over a year ago…
Is this what Spurs have settled for?
Either way, Mourinho is not going down without an excuse or two.
His successor at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, got United back into the Champions League while he failed to have the sort of impact his bosses would have hoped for when he was chosen to replace Pochettino. They finished the Premier League season strongly but can you see it getting any better?
United had patchy spells this season too but the jigsaw seemed to put itself together after Bruno Fernandes’ January arrival. There were some bumps along the way but Solskjaer’s new signing had a huge impact on helping the Red Devils return to the elite European competition. He managed to score eight goals and assist another seven in 14 Premier League appearances.
However, upon his arrival back to Portugal for a short holiday, Mourinho answered some questions for Record. Asked about fellow Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, Mourinho gave a tongue-in-cheek response, saying: “Bruno came in, was fit, played very well, improved the United team and also proved to be a great penalty taker. One of the best in the world, because he had about 20 to score.”
Sour grapes!
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