After Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United went two seasons without a trophy. They almost went a third, but Louis van Gaal was able to guide the club to a FA Cup triumph on May 21st, 2016 and the drought ended. Jose Mourinho became the first manager in club history to win a trophy during his first season on the job, and he actually claimed two (first Europa League title in club history, League Cup).
He really won two and a half, or three, depending on how you would label the Community Shield.
Even Sir Alex didn’t accomplish that. Mourinho has been peripatetic during his managerial career, but he claims a desire to put down roots at Old Trafford. United is and has been a dream job for him, and he’s sounding like a man who’s done playing the field, and is now ready to settle down and commit.
“I am ready for this. I am ready for the next 15, I would say. Here? Yes, why not?” Mourinho told ESPN FC while the club is in Los Angeles.
“I have to admit that it is very difficult because of the pressure around our jobs, everybody putting pressure on managers and things that people say – that we have to win – but in reality only one can win and every year it is getting more difficult.
“This club, for so many years, was Sir Alex (Ferguson). People got used to it; people understood the great consequences of that stability. After David (Moyes) and Mr. (Louis) Van Gaal, I come to my second year and hopefully I can stay and give that stability that the club wants. I will try, but again, I will have to try to deserve that, but that’s what I try every day that I work.”
If Mourinho is ready to manage a decade and a half at United, it would certainly be a stark contrast from his own individual history. He cut his teeth at Porto, but left in under three seasons. Then he did just over three seasons at Chelsea FC. Two years at Inter Milan preceded four at Real Madrid. Then he did two and a half at Chelsea the second time around, and the way that ended was not pretty. Mourinho was sacked in December of 2015, just seven months after guiding the Blues to another league title.
Of course, he left behind a team that possessed awful morale and a broken spirit, languishing way below mid table. It provided some red flags for sure when United made the decision to bring him on as Van Gaal’s replacement. The United job is very different of course. Perhaps this is the perfect fit for him, and he’ll get the chance to stick around longer.
Only time will tell if United proves to be the exception to the typical Mourinho rule.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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