Could Mourinho And Zlatan Be Reunited At Old Trafford And Bring Back Glory Days?

 

Jose_Mourinho

There can be no doubt now that Louis van Gaal is living on borrowed time at Old Trafford. Should his Manchester United team lose the Europa League tie to FC Midtjylland next week then I’d imagine he’ll get his P45.

Legendary Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho’s shadow has been lurking over the Man United dugout since he was dismissed from his post at Chelsea in December.

Jose’s career has been intertwined with United throughout the years.

His FC Porto side made everyone sit up and take notice in 2004 when they dumped Man Utd out of the Champions League. The image of that tie was Mourinho striding up the Old Trafford sidelines to celebrate a goal with his players. Porto would go on and win Europe’s most elite footballing competition.

Then he struck a friendship with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson when he first joined Chelsea. He would leave United in his wake as his Blues side charged towards two Premier League titles in a row. United would wrestle the trophy back in the season Jose was first sacked by Roman Abramovich.

The ‘Special One’ would be the last competitor to face Sir Alex on the European stage. His ‘Galacticos’, complete with former Man United sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, knocked United out of the Champions League in 2013 in Fergie’s last year in charge of the ‘Red Devils’.

A lot of people speculated that Jose would be the man who would come in and eventually replace the phenomenal Scotsman in Manchester. But as we all know it was a return to Stamford Bridge that beckoned for Mourinho.

But now the stars may align and see Jose replace former mentor Van Gaal as Manchester United manager.

Adding extra spice to the story would be Jose coming up in direct competition with old foe Pep Guardiola, who is joining Manchester rivals Man City in the summer.

If that’s the case then we’ll see a great amount of speculation linking players to big moves to Old Trafford and currents stars being offloaded.

The press are already speculating that Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Memphis Depay are set to be sold off to gain extra transfer funds for a new manager. We also saw a story crop up this week suggesting that club captain Wayne Rooney could be sold to a club in China for a megabucks deal.

Zlatan

One star name that may interest Jose Mourinho could be one Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he looks to rebuild United’s squad and change their fortunes.

In his book Zlatan said this about the Portuguese boss:

‘Jose Mourinho is a big star. He’d been my manager at Inter. He’s nice. The first time he met my partner Helena, he whispered to her: ‘Helena, you have only one mission: feed Zlatan, let him sleep, keep him happy.’ That guy says whatever he wants. I like him. He’s the leader of his army. But he cares, too. He would text me all the time at Inter, wondering how I was doing. He’s the exact opposite of Pep Guardiola.’

So it’s clear that Zlatan has a lot admiration for Mourinho and would love to play for him again.

His PSG contract runs out this summer and the thirty-four year old hinted he could make a move to the Premier League if the right offer were to come along.

Some might question his ability as he hits his mid-thirties but just look at the fact that he’s scored twenty-eight times for the French champions this term in thirty-three appearances. Plus add on his ten assists, that is a fantastic return for any player. Don’t fall down the trap that many do that Ligue 1 is of a pretty low standard compared to the Premier League. PSG knocked Chelsea out of last seasons Champions League and they just beat the Blues on Tuesday 2-1. Then just look at the continued influx of signings from that league, English league scouts and managers know that they can get real gems from France.

Now I’ve heard others state that United need a long term fix and not a stop gap. Well Anthony Martial is the long term future for Man Utd. They just need added experience around to help him reach his full potential.

History has shown us that Manchester United are not scared to bring in veterans to help see their youngsters flourish. You’ve had Henrik Larsson, Laurent Blanc and Michael Owen all come through the doors at Carrington during their career’s latter years.

Fergie always knew that experienced pros could give his squads extra belief. So signing an inform Zlatan would actually represent a move back to Man United’s glory days.

The Swede would demand his teammates preformed to their upmost and give everything in every single game. Watching him against Chelsea he seemed to enjoy the physicality of the game. So I’d think the English style would excite him. Even if he’s only there for a year.

Plus how much would he and Jose love to thwart Pep Guardiola in his first year in England? Hint… They’d absolutely love it (To quote Kevin Keegan)!

To be honest, I actually see him signing a new deal with PSG but what a story it would be for him and Mourinho to join forces at Old Trafford and start a new era there.

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