Jose has had the last laugh once again
United boss was right to go all out for Europa glory
NO Manchester United fan really wanted to qualify for the Champions League by finishing second, third or fourth in the Premier League this season. Jose Mourinho threw their title challenge away this season to concentrate on their Europen campaign and it has worked — if your team is not going to win the league, the glamour route is winning the Europa League.
It was the route Jose Mourinho took, forsaking their Premier League campaign for the past two months. And now they have won it, his dedication to the Europa League has been justified.
Twelve months ago, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool also put everything into qualifying for Europe’s biggest competition through the Europa League, only to fall short at the final hurdle against Sevilla in Basle.
No such problems for United this week and their success in the competition, which has completed their clean sweep of all the major honours, will help Mourinho to re-build and plan for next season.
And he knows that Manchester United need it. His team finished 24 points behind Chelsea in the Premier League, and they are aeons away from competing with the best teams in the Champions League.
As soon as he came off the podium in Stockholm, Mourinho started talking about improving the squad and his summer targets. I am sure United supporters were delighted to hear him speaking like that.
His words must have been music to the ears of the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who has the job of bringing in the targets. The pressure is on him to deliver but he clearly loves being in the limelight.
Mourinho does not need to worry about whether he will get the backing from Woodward and the United board. The money is almost irrelevant because they can afford to pay the fees and the wages at the very top of the market.
It is almost like a status symbol for Manchester United to compete for the very best and most expensive players in the world, and Woodward relishes bringing in the marquee signings.
Although I am not having him holding up three fingers for three trophies — I’m sorry but no one counts the Community Shield and no one ever has — Mourinho and United have had a more successful season than all their rivals for the top six, apart from the champions Chelsea of course. Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal haven’t matched United’s achievements this season.
Now it is about kicking on for United. We expect them to be able to compete in the Premier League but despite all the investment over the last few seasons, they are back in the same situation.
This summer they need another full overhaul and looking at the squad, they must acquire a striker, a holding midfielder, a left-back and probably a centre-back. And if they sell David de Gea, they will need a new goalkeeper too. That is a serious amount of investment.
No United supporter seems to be bothered about whether an individual is value for money or not. But they have to start making inroads to catch up with Chelsea. They are so far behind at the moment and naturally Chelsea, Manchester City, Spurs and Liverpool will also be strengthening in the summer, and no doubt competing for some of the same players.
Putting all his eggs into the Europa League basket was a gamble by Mourinho but their success in the competition was no accident.
He won a European trophy and completed the set for the club but he also knew it was a major trophy to win because of the ramifications for next season and beyond, when United can expect to be competing with the very best in Europe again.
And you have to give credit to the United manager for making it happen and getting the job done against Ajax.
It was a typically effective performance from a Mourinho team. They took all the sting out of Ajax, considering how well they have been playing in the last few months, and it was a classic case of men against boys. Physically, United were just too strong for their opponents.
I was a bit surprised by how poorly Ajax played but it goes to show the difference inexperience can make on the big occasion to any side, no matter how promising they are. Ajax play a certain way and I gather United had worked for several weeks on their game-plan and how to play against them.
The biggest disappointment for me, and the main reason Ajax couldn’t get back into the game, was that they simply didn’t try anything different at all, once they had fallen behind. It was one of the most comfortable European final wins you will ever see. Mourinho has always been a master of game management and his record of stopping sides over the years has been brilliant. His mantra has always been that it is about getting results. It worked once again, when it most mattered for United.
The return of United, and hopefully Liverpool, to the Champions League, is great news for the competition.
UEFA must have been rubbing their hands in glee when those two goals went in to give United their path to next season’s competition. It also more than justifies the UEFA decision to give a Champions League entry to the Europa League winners three years ago.
Liverpool still have to get through their qualifier but if they can so do, we will have five Premier League teams, plus Glasgow Celtic, in the Champions League, and every football fan must be happy with that. Apart from perhaps Arsenal and Rangers supporters, that is.
The competition has been poorer without those two teams and, no matter who you support, the Champions League is always going to be a better tournament with Liverpool and United participating.