UNITED SPECIAL Robben remembers life under Mourinho
JOSE Mourinho ‘expects a lot’ of his players who need to be ‘tougher, stronger and faster’ to succeed in the Premier League, according to Arjen Robben.
The Bayern Munich veteran won six trophies under the Portuguese in three seasons at Chelsea, including two league titles, and quickly established himself as one of Europe’s most exciting wingers.
United had initially led the race to sign Robben, and showed him around Old Trafford, but PSV chairman Harry van Raaij claimed their proposed offer would only get them a shirt with the winger’s autograph.
And while the 33-year-old failed to reference those links in an article for the Players Tribune, he reserved some special praise for Mourinho taking him to the next level after his £12.1m move in 2004. “At 20 years old, you’ll be in the Premier League,” the veteran wrote in a letter to his younger self.
“And your boss? His name is Jose Mourinho. I should prepare you. Because he will expect a lot of you… and of everyone.
“Right away, you’ll feel the difference in playing for a Premier League club. You’ll need to be tougher, stronger, faster.” ERIC Bailly wanted to be Didier Drogba when he was growing up but turned to a controversial Real Madrid star to learn from.
The United defender’s hero was fellow Ivory Coast player Drogba when the ex-Chelsea striker was playing in France with Marseille.
But it was eventually Sergio Ramos who caught his eye.
“As a young child I always like to play football in different positions. As a child I was following Marseille looking up to my compatriot playing there, Didier Drogba, and my team was Marseille as a child,” said Bailly.
“I would try to be as a striker even though I wasn’t and once I started growing up and seeing that professional football was a step closer I would look at Sergio Ramos that I liked a lot and I finally accomplished the dream of being a professional footballer. I always looked up to Ramos as an example footballer and watched him a lot.”
Bailly made his name as a no-nonsense central defender at Villarreal and was Jose Mourinho’s