Mourinho’s men face the youth and pace of an Ajax in the Cruyff mould

Manager prepares for biggest game of career Rooney is expected to be named on the bench

Few finals of the Europa League, or Uefa Cup as it used to be called, have felt as important and momentous as this one. The Manchester Arena bombing on Monday night has taken that importance into a different dimension.

We were all set to come to Stockholm to preview what could justifiably be stated as the biggest game in Jose Mourinho’s epic 17-year managerial career; a game that could define whether that career was in decline, whether he had failed in his first campaign as Manchester United manager with a new generation of coaches surpassing him, or whether the ultimate trophy-hunter had done it again and secured not just more silverware but entry into the Champions League.

Winning this trophy would also complete the set for United, as it is the only one they have not won, and how Mourinho, already the first manager in the club’s history to claim a cup in his first season, would love to seize that, and use it as a bridgehead for his ambition. And a sign that he still has that ambition, that fire.

But how now to approach this final, which pits United against a vibrant, young, Cruyffian Ajax side in a meeting of two clubs with rich and evocative histories?

After the events in Manchester it is difficult to make pronouncements on the state of football; on success and failure. Maybe that is partly why United felt moved to cancel their pre-match press conference here at the Friends Arena, although a personal opinion is that it would have felt appropriate for Mourinho to articulate the sense of what it means to play this game. A few words would have been right.

And it is right, also, that the match is still being played. The mood, the meaning even, for

United, has changed dramatically and we are all struggling to find the right pitch to write about football, especially when attempting to give it suitable context. Losing this final does not feel so meaningful any more. But playing a good game of football does.

In a statement released by United, Mourinho said that it was impossible to “take out of our minds and our hearts the victims and their families” and that is wholly understandable. But he added that he and the players “have a job to do” and this is where their professionalism has to kick in.

Stockholm has recently dealt with its own terrorist atrocity. Last month five people lost their lives when a stolen truck was driven into a crowd on a busy shopping street. That gives added depth to tonight’s encounter.

So there is a final to be played. There is a job to do. A final that could be a new dawn for United or a coming of age for Ajax. Although it means more, given the stakes, for Mourinho and his club, it would be foolish to underestimate the uninhibited threat posed by their coltish opponents, who have played some remarkable front-foot football to reach their first European final since 1996.

All the pressure, all the expectation, all the immediate ramifications lie with United. Mourinho can argue that – financially – they can afford to lose, as so robust are the club that they can cope with four years out of the Champions League. But that is simply not true. Such an absence is not easily sustained on the balance sheet and, in sporting terms even less so. Mourinho would not continue as manager if it were to happen.

Mourinho can complain about fatigue and fixture congestion and the perceived injustices dealt him by the Premier League, the Football Association and whoever else, but the fact is he carries one of the most expensively assembled, best remunerated and biggest squads in world football. As an indication of that – and how it compares – United have spent more on transfers in the past three seasons than the Dutch club have in their history.

As for tiredness – this will be United’s 64th game of the season. For Ajax, with a team on average four years younger than United’s, it will be their 56th.

What kind of game can we expect? Ajax will attack. Much will depend on how United cope with their speed, through 19-year-old Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg and Bertrand Traoré, also 19, on loan from Chelsea. The fact that their senior player is captain Davy Klaassen, aged 24, points to the fact that if Mourinho’s side can hold them off, then the longer the game goes on the more they are expected to come into it with their power and experience.

Team selection for United should take care of itself, and while Mourinho will lament the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo and the suspended Eric Bailly, he has an array of options. The key to his approach could be whether he deploys, as anticipated if he is fit, Marouane Fellaini. Wayne Rooney is due to be named on the bench, in what is expected to be his last United game.

This has been an unremarkable trek to the final by United, taking in 14 matches, across seven cities and 14,500 miles. Now they are here.

Let us hope, for many reasons, they can put in an impressive, winning performance.

All the pressure, expectations and immediate ramifications lie with United