Defeat is never good for a manager, even less so when the club in question is one of the biggest in the world. Manchester United were uninspiring in Rotterdam this week, losing to Tonny Vihena’s controversial late winner.
It was enough for some supporters to ring TalkSPORT and demand Mourinho’s head, unsurprising in a day and age when the lowest common denominator is often the caller’s IQ.
Mourinho didn’t attempt to hide his displeasure at inheriting a side in the Europa League. It was a competition, he said beforehand, that neither he, the club nor the players wanted to be in but acknowledged that this was their reality for the season.
He set the bar low on expectations, claiming that for a club of United’s size success would be gauged by progressing through the group stage. Many disagree; success is only measured by the weight of the trophy on the shelf in the display cabinet at Old Trafford.
Typically Mourinho sent his side out not to lose. It was strong with the only noticeable absentees from the starting line-up and bench being Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. With the volume of games this month, it was hardly surprising that he made a number of changes.
It wasn’t a team of kids though; all of the XI at kick-off were full internationals for their countries. He denied deliberately weakening his team, hoping to lose:
“To lose, we bring kids – we instead give experience to kids, chances to Tuanzebe and other great boys in the squad.
“We try to win the match and play with what we think is the best team.”
It was an XI which should have won but they didn’t and in part, that is down to the competition’s reputation. It’s very much seen as the poor man’s Champions League and even giving the winners a spot in the following season’s premier competition has sparked the public’s imagination with the Europa League. Not outside of Seville, at least.
Unusually, Mourinho is ignoring a place in United’s record books or a better one that he acquired on Thursday. For the first time in their history, Manchester United have lost four successive away games in European competition. They achieved that ignominy in a competition which the club has never before won.
Winning the Europa League would put United into the elite group of European clubs which has won every major trophy. At the moment, only Bayern Munich, Juventus, Ajax and Chelsea are on that list. United, as Mourinho was keen to point out, are a big club and one which should be in the bracket of clubs. Mourinho as the manager to complete the set, would be marked indelibly in United’s history.
But it seems unlikely that he will achieve that success. In the aftermath of the defeat, he was quick to point out that the Europa League hampers his chances of success in the Premier League. In a complaint familiar to all managers in European competition, Mourinho bemoaned the frequency of the games. Playing on Thursday needed United to play the following Monday if they were to challenge for the title, he claimed.
That practicality is the reason United supporters don’t have concerns about the season. Domestic success is very much the priority. Defeat in the Manchester derby was hard to take but it wasn’t humiliating; United have every right to feel they should have drawn although City feel that they could – should – have won by a wider margin.
But that prioritisation is what matters. City aren’t invincible, they have weaknesses; so do United. They will drop points but Mourinho will do all that he can to win.
And he will also keep the Europa League as a backup plan. More than any other manager, Mourinho realises the importance of winning trophies for supporters. He craves their adoration and knows the quickest way to gain it is silverware.
He will never engender the loyalty Arsène Wenger enjoys, for example. There’s no hint of that kind of loyalty to one club from him. Certainly no hint of football played with the joie de vivre which was the hallmark of the Frenchman’s first decade. A club which hires Mourinho is doing so to win trophies; period.
His experience with Chelsea offers United supporters some comfort. He knows how to win the Premier League, combining the fixture lists of several competitions by dragging the best out of his squad. He will win ugly when needs must. He will lose on the pitch but off it, never lose focus on the main prize.
Mourinho famously declared he doesn’t keep his medals; winning is enough. It’s that determination, strength of that aspect of his character, which stands him in good stead for the coming months.
The manner of United’s play against Feyenoord was designed not to lose. Win, but satisfied with a draw. It’s the group stage and even defeat doesn’t have to preclude progress. The top two go through and with three home games remaining, United will be confident of progressing.
They have two consecutive home games: Zorya Luhansk in a fortnight’s time, followed by Fenerbahce. Six points and the Europa League campaign is well under way, particularly as they will be highly placed seeds if they win the group. With Feyenoord still to visit Old Trafford, that’s not beyond the realms of possibility.
Too much in the modern game is focussed on the last result. At this stage of the season, the long game is very much the key. No need for panic just yet.
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