Manchester United have finished five straight seasons without winning a trophy. That means that Jose Mourinho remains the last manager to guide the Red Devils to silverware, having won the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield during his time at Old Trafford. The club have recently appointed Erik ten Hag as their manager and will be hoping to change that.
Mourinho’s managerial career has been in a bit of a decline in recent years. From being arguably the best manager in the world not too long ago, he has found it difficult to match his own extremely high standards.
His stint at Tottenham Hotspur did not produce a single trophy. But now, he appears to have caught a bit of a second wind at AS Roma, having guided them to the UEFA Europa Conference League title.
This was Mourinho’s fifth European title, having won on the continental stage with FC Porto, Inter Milan and Manchester United in the past. But when talking about them, as reported by Planet Sport, the Portuguese legend said:
"“As you know I have won European competitions with four different clubs.“Winning with Manchester United even though it was a Manchester United side that lacked the quality of proper United sides, winning with Manchester United is almost natural.“Winning the Champions League with Porto is not normal. Bringing joy to people by winning the Champions League with Inter. Inter is naturally a huge club, but I think it was 50 years since they had won the Champions League and brought joy to the fans. Today winning this competition brings joy to the people as well.”"
Mourinho makes Manchester United claim
Judging from his comments, it feels like Mourinho enjoyed his European successes with the likes of FC Porto, Inter Milan and AS Roma more than he did with Manchester United.
In hindsight, now that we know how things would turn out after his departure, Mourinho’s stint as Manchester United manager was highly underrated, and that is after considering that the team is much stronger now than it was back then.
One can only hope that Ten Hag can take the club back to the top of English football once again and European successes are no longer just the stuff of the past. Next season and the upcoming summer transfer window is going to be an exciting time for Manchester United fans for sure, no matter how it turns out.