Jose helps net Grenfell funds
JOSE MOURINHO made a comeback in the most unlikely way yesterday when he turned out in goal in a star-studded fundraising game for the Grenfell disaster victims at Loftus Road.
The Manchester United manager left Old Trafford, where a United legends side was playing Barcelona, to return to west London, where he had so much success with Chelsea.
But it was at the home of rivals QPR where he played the pantomime villain by reprising his fledgling career as a goalkeeper in Game4Grenfell, a match packed with celebrities such as Sir Mo Farah, Olly Murs, Damian Lewis, Jack Whitehall, Marcus Mumford and Jarvis Cocker. Mourinho kept the crowd entertained when he replaced David James in goal after an hour of the game, organised by QPR’s director of football Les Ferdinand, who grew up on the Grenfell Estate.
While Ferdinand managed one side, and played briefly before an injury, Alan Shearer was Mourinho’s manager and allowed him to take a penalty in a shoot-out after a 2-2 draw. Although Mourinho converted his penalty, he conceded several more as Murs scored with the winning kick for Ferdinand’s team in front of a sell-out crowd.
Mourinho was the centre of attention from the moment he went on, initially to jeers. After being booked for timewasting, he won the fans over, spending time chatting and posing for selfies.
Afterwards, team-mate Stan Collymore said: ‘We’ve nicknamed him “The Cat” for his display in goal. He’s an absolute charmer, signing autographs.
‘He said he feels part of the community here, having lived down the road in Chelsea. The guys from Grenfell absolutely loved him.’
Ferdinand added: ‘Those who came today said it was the best day of their lives. Sometimes football gets a bad press but today it came together and united people.’