Though he denies it, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has gambled the club’s season on the outcome of today’s UEFA Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm.
Having missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification via the English Premier League, the Red Devils must beat Ajax at the Friends Arena to secure a return to Europe’s elite competition.
Mourinho has made his priorities clear by resting players for league fixtures, but he claims United’s injury problems left him with no choice.
Photo: Reuters
“It was not a gamble. It was a simple decision,” said Mourinho, who picked a team with an average age of 22 years, 284 days for Sunday’s season-ending 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace. “When we lost players in a period of 17 matches in seven weeks, it was the impossible job. It was not a gamble, just a consequence of our situation.”
Mourinho won the UEFA Cup, as the Europa League was previously known, with Porto in 2002-2003, but the two-time Champions League winner has been publicly dismissive of the competition since.
Upon returning to Chelsea in 2013, Mourinho said of the tournament, which the London club had won the previous season: “I don’t want to win the Europa League. It would be a big disappointment for me.”
Now that the trophy is within touching distance, Mourinho has started to paint the tournament in a different light.
He has already masterminded an EFL Cup success and has suggested Europa League glory would mean United have had a more successful season than trophy-less top-four rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool.
“People will say we’ve not had a good season, but would you rather finish second and win nothing, or win two cups and be in the Champions League?” United defender Phil Jones said.
Ajax approach the game with none of the cloying pressure that United must contend with.
Peter Bosz’s exciting young team have carried the club to a first European final since a 4-2 loss on penalties to Juventus in the 1995-1996 Champions League final.
Ajax won the previous season’s Champions League and famous figures from their 1990s golden team have helped to restore the club to former glories.
Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars are on the board of directors, while Dennis Bergkamp is one of Bosz’s assistants.
There is even an on-pitch link in the form of 18-year-old winger Justin Kluivert, son of Patrick, who scored the only goal in the 1994-1995 Champions League final against AC Milan.
“I feel no pressure,” said Bosz, who is without suspended centerback Nick Viergever. “Everyone dreams of these games, so there’s no pressure, just a big opportunity. They have a bigger budget for sure and if they feel pressure because of that, then OK. We like to play good football and hope to win.”
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