Manchester United Legends On Mourinho’s Appointment

Manchester United Legends On Mourinho’s Appointment

Ending Van Gaal’s contract 1 year early sparked all kinds of reactions from both fans and former Manchester United legends. The Dutchman was appreciated by the staff and probably equally criticized by others. Many of the things he did that were good, went unnoticed because of poor results. There were a lot of expectations which is normal when speaking about a club like United. That combined with the pressure from the press and fans influenced the Dutchman’s overall performance and led to his departure. Now rumors have been confirmed as Mourinho has just been appointed manager. It all started right after he said goodbye to Chelsea even though his results during the first half of the season were disastrous to say the least. As much as he tried he just couldn’t keep the locker room in place. Maybe Stamford Bridge wasn’t for him though. Remember when everyone said he will be the one to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson? Back then the press insisted that the Special One was incredibly unhappy with the fact that he was not considered.

Mourinho’s love for United could be the key for a successful collaboration. Maybe he is finally getting the job that he wanted. Unfortunately, not all share positive opinions when it comes to this probable linkup between the Portuguese boss and United. The first to comment on Mourinho’s possible appointment was Manchester United legend Eric Cantona. According to the Guardian, he said: “But I don’t think it’s the type of football that the fans of Manchester United will love, even if they win. He can win with Manchester United. But do they expect that type of football, even if they win? I don’t think so. I would have loved to have seen Guardiola in Manchester [United]. He is the only one to change Manchester. He is in Manchester, but at the wrong one.” To be fair, Cantona is somewhat right. The Special One was never the manager to win memorable games. He’s the guy who grinds their adversary and holds on to a one goal advantage until the very last second. From that perspective, LVG was criticized when doing the same so we will have to see how that pans out for Mou.

Paul Scholes also commented on Mourinho’s imminent arrival: “He has managed big clubs and he has got a track record of winning trophies. United should be challenging for trophies but it is the style of football that has been the big problem for the last two years and if he can get players in that are likely to entertain then the fans will be happy.” Not sure if he forgot to ask the big question on purpose though: Is Mourinho the man to take United’s players to another level?


Last but not least there’s Ryan Giggs who avoided making any comments on who will be appointed manager. He did say though that letting LVG go was a mistake. He worked closely with the Dutchman and furthermore, rumors have it that he was expecting to be given a chance to be manager. You can imagine that a collaboration with Mourinho would be very difficult but the deal has now been confirmed that Jose Mourinho is the United manager.