Jose Mourinho Has To Be Careful Not To Repeat Mistakes Of His Time At Real Madrid At Manchester United

Jose Mourinho Has To Be Careful Not To Repeat Mistakes Of His Time At Real Madrid At Manchester United
14:50, 20 Mar 2018

The events of the last week have momentarily changed the perception of Jose Mourinho’s project at Manchester United. There should have been an air of positivity after beating Liverpool but defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League has been a severe blow.

Mourinho’s pragmatic style has naturally taken plenty of criticism due to the disappointing result, although his comments since certainly haven’t helped to alleviate the situation. The Portuguese coach perplexed the Old Trafford press room when he talked about the recent history of United in Europe’s premier competition, whilst seemingly boasting about his own achievements in eliminating them.

“I sit in this chair with Porto, Manchester United out! I sit in this chair with Real Madrid, Manchester United out!” remarked Mourinho in his post-match press conference. “I don’t think it’s something new for the club.”

He quickly reverted to one-word and short answers as he became irritated with the line of questioning. When asked if he felt the result was acceptable given the difference in financial constraints between the clubs, he simply replied: “Yes!”

That led to the orchestrated ‘rant’ ahead of the FA Cup tie with Brighton Hove Albion, where he talked about the “historical heritage.” After the 2-0 victory he described his players as lacking “class and personality.”

Mourinho has targeted a young player for a reaction in all his previous sides, as he has done with Luke Shaw since he came to Manchester. However, reports have surfaced this week that he has overstepped the mark on this occasion and that members of the squad have taken exception to his methods.

“I would not criticize one of my own players publicly,” stated Sir Alex Ferguson once. “When you make public criticism of your players, you damage morale.”

Ferguson may not have always adhered to this stance given that he did castigate David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to the press. The talent of those players suggest that he would use the tactic sparingly when he felt potential world-class performers were not reaching their desired classification.

At Real Madrid, Mourinho was openly derogatory towards Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas and even Pepe. Many of his staunchest advocates within the dressing room began to get tired of his strange comments, treatment and negativity towards some squad members.

Mourinho was keen to create a division between the Spanish international players at Madrid and those at Barcelona, which Casillas and Sergio Ramos strongly opposed. Pep Guardiola hasn’t quite rankled his rival in the same manner since he arrived in the same city, although it’s surely just a matter of time.

His attacks on the fans regarding the atmosphere at the Bernabeu also became of source of irritation. Mourinho has previously complained about noise levels at United home games, but that has been the case at many of the major sides within England.

Madrid and United are arguably the biggest clubs in the world and expectations are naturally at their highest. With vast amounts of money at the manager’s disposal, excuses which may be given elsewhere can’t be justified.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Mourinho has to change his blueprint if he expects United to be his longest-serving employment. If he continues in this manner he risks losing the support of the fans and players, as he did at Real Madrid.

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