Man United’s Mourinho eyes first Super Cup win in Real reunion
M anchester United’s Jose Mourinho can collect the one European trophy he lacks when his side faces Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday in his first competitive meeting with the Spanish giants since an acrimonious split in 2013.
Mourinho, whose team won the Europa League last season to salvage an otherwise disappointing first campaign under the Portuguese, led Real to the Liga title with a record 100 points and won a King’s Cup in an eventful stay between 2010 and 2013.
His achievements at the Santiago Bernabeu were overshadowed, however, by his falling out with key dressing room figures such as Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas as well as confrontations with referees and opponents plus a failure to win the Champions League, as Real lost in the semifinals each year.
Mourinho’s legacy has been upstaged by the Spanish club’s three Champions League triumphs in the four years since his departure, although in a recent interview the Portuguese claimed he had “to beg” Real’s board to let him leave for Chelsea.
Zinedine Zidane’s side beat Sevilla 3-2 in extra-time last year to win the showcase match and the French coach is targeting a fourth European trophy in less than two years in charge of Real, which would match Mourinho’s tally of continental titles.
United will be missing central defenders Eric Bailly and Phil Jones due to suspension, opening up a place in the starting lineup for new recruit Victor Lindelof.
The Swede is one of three signings made so far by United along with Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and midfield anchorman Nemanja Matic arriving at a combined cost of 146 million pounds ($190.34 million) as the Old Trafford side looks to improve on a disappointing sixth-placed Premier League finish last term.
Real has added promising youngsters Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos to its talent-packed squad which won a Liga and Champions League double last season while parting ways with forwards Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez.
Real’s reported interest in French teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe has yet to materialize, however.
United beat Real on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a friendly in California last month and won five of its other pre-season games, losing only to Barcelona.
Real, meanwhile, failed to win any of its four friendlies in the United States in 90 minutes, losing 3-2 to Barca and getting thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City, its only win coming in a shoot-out victory over an MLS All-Stars team.
“The sensation overall is not good, when you don’t win any of your four games something is wrong,” Zidane told reporters after the tour. “We have to do a lot more, we’ve made a bad start with these results and what we all want is to get home, rest and think about the Super Cup.”
Mourinho said on Monday he would step up United’s pursuit of Gareth Bale if the Real Madrid winger doesn’t feature in Tuesday’s match.
Bale was once the world’s most expensive player when he joined Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for 85.5 million pounds ($111 million), although his status in Madrid has fallen due to an injury-ravaged last campaign that saw him miss the starting line-up for the Champions League final win over Juventus.
Bale’s Real future has been further cast into doubt by the club’s reported pursuit of teenage sensation Mbappe of Monaco, although he is expected to start against United.
Mourinho said he would take the Wales international’s absence as an invitation to lure him to Old Trafford.
“If he is not in the club’s plans, that with the arrival of another player would mean he was on his way out. I will try to be waiting for him on the other side and fight with other coaches who would want him on their team,” Mourinho told a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s game in Skopje, Macedonia.”If he’s playing tomorrow, I wouldn’t think of that, it would be because he’s in the coach’s plans and the club’s plans, because he also has the motivation to continue at Real Madrid.”
Mourinho lost in the 2003 and 2013 editions of the Super Cup while with Porto and Chelsea respectively. United has not lifted the trophy since 1991, and the Portuguese coach said his side was the underdog to double Champions League holder Real.
“We are going to try but the difference between the Champions League winners and Europa League winners is obvious. There is a big difference of quality but we believe it’s possible,” Mourinho said.
The coach also raised concerns about the scorching temperatures in the Macedonian capital, which have led tournament organizers UEFA to permit water breaks during Tuesday’s game.
“I knew the weather was like this since we got back from the United States. In Madrid they have training sessions with the hot weather so must be more adapted than we are but we have to play and enjoy a special moment,” he said. “It is not often a player has the chance to play a Super Cup unless you are like Madrid and Barcelona winning regular European trophies.” (Reuters)