Former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is the favourite to be the next in the Manchester United dugout
According to reports from BBC Sport, Manchester United are holding talks to bring former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.
That news will not come as a major surprise considering United’s struggles under Louis van Gaal this season.
United need a counter-attack
The appointment of Mourinho as United boss would probably be the best way to counteract Manchester City’s capture of former-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
Mourinho is the only boss currently active within top-level football who can even compare with Pep when it comes to trophies and silverware.
Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world and has proven his managerial ability in both Spain and Germany. The Premier League is a whole different ball game to both of those aforementioned leagues.
In Germany, Bayern complete dominate the Bundesliga and have done since Jurgen Klopp lost all his best Dortmund players to his teams Bavarian rivals. Some would say anybody could manage the Bavarians to the Bundesliga title.
However, it was his work at Barcelona that has come to define Guardiola as a true innovator and one of the best bosses in the world. In the English top-flight he faces bigger challenges, as the money gets bigger, the smaller teams get better.
An advantage over Guardiola
This is where Mourinho could have the upper-hand over Guardiola. Despite Chelsea’s poor performances and his sacking as Blues boss, Mourinho is still considered a great manager.
Guardiola being a student of the game and a great admirer of English football will have an in-depth knowledge of the Premier League. However that is very different from managing a club in the top-flight, especially at a club like Manchester City.
Mourinho knows the Premier League inside out from his two spells in English football. He knows how to work the British press, he knows the grounds and the opposition teams very well.
The Portuguese bosses experience in the English game could give Manchester United the edge over their city rivals. There is no doubting that Manchester City have a far stronger team and squad, but Mourinho is a man who can make a difference.
Mourinho is one of the few bosses to out-fox Guardiola in league competition, as the Portuguese bosses’ Real Madrid beat Guardiola’s great Barcelona side to La Liga glory in 2012. That season turned out to be Guardiola’s last in the Catalan capital, before he took a year-long sabbatical from the game.
Mourinho had taken time, but he got the better of a tired Guardiola and I am sure he would relish the chance to challenge himself against Guardiola once more, this time in the English top-flight.
United need Mourinho
Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United has been like a ship without a captain, or a competent one anyway. David Moyes proved to be out of his depth at Old Trafford attempting to fill Ferguson’s massive shoes in the United dugout.
United needed a big character to take control of the club and turn their fortunes around. In Louis van Gaal they found a character, but a boss that favoured caution over adventurous football that United fans crave. The Dutchman looks set to leave in the summer.
Mourinho is not known for his adventurous style, but for most of his managerial career he has been regarded as a winner. He gets it right more often than not, even if his tactics like Van Gaal are perceived as cautious at times.
Mourinho wins trophies as well and that is what United fans have been unusually starved of in the last few years. Most United fans have been patience and understand that it will take a while to get back to the pinnacle of the lead.
The 53-year-old is a character and he has never hidden his admiration for Manchester United as a football club, largely due to his good relationship with former-Red Devils boss Sir Alex.
There are other candidates in the frame for the United job at the end of the season, such as Laurent Blanc, Ryan Giggs and Mauricio Pochettino. However, the Portuguese boss is the hot favourite at odds of 1/3 to be the next in the Old Trafford hot seat.
For me Mourinho is the most likely boss to be able to counteract the noisy neighbour’s fantastic coup in getting Guardiola in.
Mourinho will feel like he has unfinished business in the Premier League after being sacked by Chelsea and no doubt he will relish the chance to lock horns with Guardiola once again. Seems like a match made in heaven to me.
Will Jose Mourinho be the next Manchester United boss?
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