THE CRUClAL ONE
‘Champions League football is everything.. so this is biggest tie in United history’
JOSE MOURINHO claims tonight’s Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo is the biggest game in Manchester United history.
United have won three European Cups, 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups and five League Cups, as well as twice being crowned world club champions.
But none of those past glories matters to Mourinho as he seeks to steer United into the Europa League final and within one win of the holy grail – a return to the Champions League.
The prospect of missing out on Europe’s elite competition for the third time in four years – and a second successive season – is almost unthinkable for a club of such rich history.
Against that backdrop, Mourinho believes tonight’s tie is as big as it gets for United, acknowledging that failure to reach the final would provide a harsh reality check.
“Celta say it’s the most important match of their history and my feeling is it’s also the most important match of our history,” said Mourinho.
“It doesn’t matter what’s happened before, what matters is the next one. If we don’t qualify for the Champions League, it’s because we’re not good enough.
“For the prestige and the finance, the Champions League is the Champions League. For myself and the players, the Chammatter pions League is the Champions League. If you’re not there, it’s because you’re not good enough.
“If we don’t go to the final, if we play in the Europa League next season, it’s because we’re not good enough. Then it’s maybe the step we need to take.
“If we win, then it means we’re strong enough to go to the final. The Champions League is the competition we want to be in and nobody has more motivation than I have to try to win.
“We will fight hard. It’s been a long journey, match number 14 in the Europa League, but we’re going to fight hard.”
Mourinho has gambled United’s entire season on tonight’s second-leg tie, unashamedly giving up on a topfour finish in the Premier League to pin hopes of a return to the Champions League on winning the Europa League.
But the Old Trafford chief said he had no regrets at prioritising the Europa League over the Premier League, claiming he had no alternative with injuries and fixtures piling up.
“The situation is simple – 17 matches in seven weeks with 16 players is impossible,” said Mourinho. “It wasn’t a gamble. “It was a simple decision, a decision based on common sense. From the moment we lost players, initially four of them in one week, it was an impossible job.
“So it wasn’t a gamble, it was just a consequence of our situation. We’re in this situation and we have to fight for it. Let’s see if we can do it. It doesn’t what has happened – no regrets. We’re giving everything we can, the players and myself. “When you give everything there is no problem.” Mourinho called on United’s fans to raise the noise level at Old Trafford tonight after claiming the atmosphere has been muted for some recent games, in particular the quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht. “I see a difference between matches,” said Mourinho. “I don’t think it’s consistent – the atmosphere and the enthusiasm. “I could feel in the match against Chelsea that they wanted us to play from the first minute to the last and it was a very strong Old Trafford. “But we had a match against Anderlecht when the stadium did not make us feel it was an important match, even though it was. “So I hope they have the feeling for the second leg of this semi-final.” United are red-hot 1-10 favourites to qualify for the final after Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick earned them a 1-0 win in the first leg in Spain last