Mourinho’s dream Manchester United job ends in tears
london — Jose Mourinho reportedly cried when he heard he had not been chosen as the heir to Alex Ferguson’s throne at Old Trafford. Five years on, having finally landed his dream job, Mourinho’s United tenure also ended in tears.
The axe finally fell on the Portuguese on Tuesday, an increasingly inevitable divorce as Mourinho fell out with senior squad members, blamed his superiors for a lack of backing in the transfer market and oversaw a drastic deterioration in performances and results on the pitch.
Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to bitter rivals Liverpool, which left United 19 points off the Premier League leaders after just 17 games, proved the final straw.
After David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, a third manager sacked in four years suggests there is far more to be fixed behind the scenes at the world’s richest club than a new name on the manager’s door.
Former club captain Gary Neville raged at a club “rotten to the core” when rumours over Mourinho’s future first circulated and after the Liverpool defeat described United’s board as
“so naive it’s unbelievable”.
But Mourinho did little to help himself, particularly in a shortlived third season, which has become an unwanted hallmark of his managerial career.
His departure from Old Trafford came a day after the third anniversary of his sacking from a second spell at Chelsea just six months after winning the title with the Blues.
Inevitable is the word I’d use. Mourinho had to go in the end. Simply not getting anywhere near enough out of his players Michael Owen
@themichaelowen