Who would have ever thought that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would show any kind of sympathy at all towards his arch-nemesis Jose Mourinho? Granted the sympathy was lukewarm at best, and didn’t name the current Manchester United and former Chelsea boss by name specifically, but it’s a show of support nonetheless and thus it’s extremely shocking to all of us in the world of football observers.
Despite the fact that he has clashed so many times with Mourinho in the past, Wenger answered a question about Mourinho and United crashing out of the UEFA Champions League this week by saying he’s “supportive” of anyone who suffers.
United fell 2-1 to Sevilla at home Tuesday night, and with a goalless draw in the road leg, exit Europe in the round of 16 as 2-1 losers on aggregate.
Mourinho is taking a ton of heat from media, supporters, former players etc. and it’s something Wenger knows quite well. #WengerOut is a movement that is currently as loud and as strong as it has ever been. Additionally, Wenger and Arsenal have been eliminated from Champions League in their last seven straight appearances.
Wenger showed support for Mourinho while taking aim at the media yet again.
“I’m supportive of everybody who suffers. Your job (as media) is to get everybody to suffer. Our job (as managers) is to get as few people as possible to suffer,” Wenger said.
“I want English football to do well, but people at our level, they are the most demanding with themselves; and the biggest suffering we get is from our own demands with ourselves. For the rest, we get love or not love.”
“You know what a guy said? You’re loved when you’re born, you’re loved when you die, in between you have to manage.”
Despite the differences Wenger has had with Mourinho in the past, the Frenchman still adheres to the code of the coaching fraternity, and takes his side (albeit mildly at best, and certainly very begrudgingly) against the exterior critics. He wouldn’t expound on the status quo at Old Trafford any further though.
“I want everybody to be happy in the world. I don’t want to speak about Manchester United’s situation because my job is to take care of Arsenal,” Wenger continued, and overall I want English football to do well, and I want every manager to be happy. It’s not possible.”
“We can struggle, we are like Man United, we are like Tottenham, like everybody. Football is football and you have to accept that when the performance on the day is not top spot we can suffer.”
With those statements, Wenger also adhered to another manager’s code, the “we’re rivals domestically, but we publicly support one another when competing in Europe.”
How much that is lip service and how much that is genuine commentary that speaks from the heart…only Wenger really knows.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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