Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says Jose Mourinho is an “instance” for different managers forward of dealing with the teaching legend’s Fenerbahce within the Europa League this week.
Mourinho took the job with the Turkish giants throughout the summer time, transferring to the fifth nation of his profession after earlier spells in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
Ten Hag and Mourinho have by no means truly crossed paths prior to now, with Ten Hag not arriving at Ajax till round eight months after Mourinho’s United beat the Dutch giants within the 2017 Europa League closing. However the present United boss is trying ahead to a primary assembly with somebody who has helped outline an period of teaching over the previous 20 years.
“It is a large sport for each of us. I [will] actually take pleasure in dealing with him and enjoying in opposition to him,” Ten Hag mentioned on the annual Soccer Writers’ Affiliation awards.
“He all the time has good groups; he’s a winner and has gained so many trophies. He is an instance for a lot of managers, so I’ll actually take pleasure in enjoying in opposition to him.”
Mourinho rose to prominence when he gained the UEFA Cup – now the Europa League – and Champions League with Porto in successive seasons in 2002/03 and 2003/04.
He adopted that up with back-to-back Premier League titles with Chelsea, earlier than main Inter to a Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League treble in 2009/10. A spell at Actual Madrid was characterised by a private rivalry with Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola, whereas a later return to Chelsea yielded the membership one other Premier League crown.
Mourinho has arguably fallen out of the elite bracket of membership soccer in more moderen years, struggling to make Manchester United successful once more, though he stays the final supervisor to ship two trophies in a single season, and taking in spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Roma. He gained the latter’s first European trophy in 41 years in 2021/22, however a Convention League trophy would not fairly hit the identical because the serial triumphs he loved within the first half of his profession.
Since taking cost of Fenerbahce, Mourinho has overseen 5 wins from eight Turkish Tremendous Lig fixtures, however his workforce path fierce rivals and reigning champions Galatasaray by eight factors. Within the Europa League, it has been a win over Union Saint-Gilloise and a draw with FC Twente to this point.