After several months of speculation, former FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is confirmed as the coach of Manchester United, the most successful club in England. This puts and end to one of football’s worst kept secrets. It started as early as January, just a month after the self proclaimed ‘Special One’ was sacked as the manager of Chelsea for the second time. United meanwhile were struggling with Louis van Gaal in charge.
The Dutchman was given the boot by the Red Devils barely a week ago, just a day after United won the FA Cup after a gap of 12 years. Relationship with the players breaking down along with the failure to seal a spot in the UEFA Champions League were seen as the primary reasons to Van Gaal’s downfall. Mourinho long expressed an interest to manage United. It was as early as 2009 that the Portuguese expressed interest in take over the reigns at Old Trafford, after the regime of Sir Alex Ferguson. However, it was David Moyes who got the job after Ferguson’s 26-year-old regime came to an end.
In Mourinho, United have a man with a glittering CV, with league titles won in as many as four countries. The 53-year-old has also won two Champions League titles, both coming with unheralded sides Porto and Inter. After winning two Premier League titles during his first stint with Chelsea (2004-07), Mourinho came back to the Stamford Bridge hotseat in 2013, promising a longer reign. The Blues cantered to the title in 2014-15 but the wheels would come off in the following season. The defending champions imploded and found themselves only two points behind the relegation zone when Mourinho was sacked in December.
Since his dismissal, Mourinho has expressed an interest in staying in England, where his family is based out of. There were plenty of apprehensions shown by the United board before zeroing on Mourinho; the gaffer’s reluctance to field youth, combative nature, and his so-called defensive style of football viewed as major reasons. The details of Mourinho’s contract is not known but sources say that he has been awarded with a 3-year contract.
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