Manchester United won the EFL Cup on Sunday, but will that be enough to qualify Jose Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford a success?
Manchester United rode their luck in Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Southampton, eventually running out 3-2 winners despite being outplayed for most of the match. Jose Mourinho became the first United manager to win a major trophy in his first season with the club, but the question remains: with the Red Devils on the outside looking in at the top four in the Premier League, and with a long way to go in the Europa League and FA Cup, would the EFL Cup win by itself qualify as a successful debut season for the Special One?
EFL Cup is a step in the right direction for Mourinho’s United
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
Jose Mourinho doesn’t need to do much more for his first year at Old Trafford to be considered a success. The EFL Cup may not be the most prestigious trophy in England, but winning it will mean a successful season for Mourinho. Or at least that’s how it will be presented, and for one simple reason: Mourinho isn’t Louis van Gaal or David Moyes.
Mourinho’s name and reputation are the promise of many more prizes in the future. It’s a reputation often blown out of proportion, but one the Portuguese just about merits thanks to a sterling track record. Mourinho has won league titles in his native land with Porto, in Italy with Inter Milan and, of course, in the Premier League with Chelsea. Throw in two Champions league victories, one apiece with Porto and Inter, and Mourinho has the hardware to back up most of his boasts.
This trophy-laden record will continue to buy Mourinho the time and understanding neither Moyes nor van Gaal were afforded at United.
In Moyes’ case, his history with Motherwell, Preston North End and Everton was never going to wow the followers of a club used to being the measuring stick for success in England’s top flight. Moyes collapsed into the United hot-seat already weighed down by the perception he wasn’t ready for the big time. It was a sentiment United supporters, and, you get the impression, maybe some of the players, never let the Scot forget.
Van Gaal’s plight was different, though. He touched down in Manchester with a CV on a par with any top manager in Europe. His trophy haul included a Champions League win with Ajax and league titles at Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich.
Yet United never warmed to LVG, and it wasn’t all about his mercurial mania behind a microphone. Instead, the main gripe against the Dutchman was the slow and repetitive brand of soccer his side played.
It’s more than a little ironic that Mourinho, a manager famed for parking the bus, is earning most of his plaudits from the United faithful for expanding the style of play. While Mourinho will never foster buccaneering attacking, he has made United more progressive in year one.
He’s done it by junking the pass, pass and pass sideways some more approach van Gaal insisted on, and replacing it with a more direct, cogent and quicker mode of attack. Using width to exploit the talents of Zlatan Ibrahimovic through the middle has been a big part of the change.
Yet Mourinho also deserves credit for indulging flair players, not something he’s always done during his career. This season, United have turned Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata loose. Their artful passing and subtle movement routinely adds a flourish to what United produce in the final third. You only need look at the quality of goals the Red Devils scored to beat Leicester 3-0 in early February to appreciate the growing confidence and class in attack.
Confidence is the main commodity Mourinho is trading in during his debut season at United. Specifically, the confidence he’s creating among others that his United are built to win major prizes consistently again. Securing a first trophy as part of a run that’s seen the club lose just once in 25 games across all competitions adds credibility to this confidence.
Of course, United are still in the Europa League, a tournament they are among the favorites to win. They’re also still in the FA Cup and just two points shy of the top four and a much-needed return to the Champions League. So there’s still plenty to play for in this campaign.
Yet Mourinho’s biggest success has been to get fans believing the next seasons will bring even greater achievements. As long as they don’t crumble over the remaining three months of the season, the EFL Cup win will ensure Mourinho can look back on his first season as a success.
Champions League or bust in Mourinho’s first season
Peter Johstone, @9PniJ2
The triumphant side in the League Cup final are not normally remembered in years to come, unless the side who claim the trophy are a big underdog. The competition lacks a certain prestige, which is why the bigger clubs tend to use the competition as an opportunity to give experience to younger players.
Jose Mourinho, however, holds the League Cup in high regard. It was the first trophy he lifted as a manager in England, and although he’s won much bigger prizes before and since, Manchester United’s victory on Sunday showed how much the tournament means to the Portuguese coach.
However, if the Red Devils don’t win any other trophies this season, would that be enough for Manchester United fans to call their team’s season a success? The plain and simple answer is no. Mourinho is one of the best managers in the game, and while winning a trophy so early in his tenure will certainly help United regain the confidence they’ve been lacking since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, he wasn’t brought in to win minor trophies.
So what would constitute a good season for the mighty Manchester United?
They need to qualify for the Champions League, whether by finishing in the top four in the Premier League or by winning the Europa League. That’s the standard at United — it was the standard for both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, and it should be the standard for Mourinho.
The signing of Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the summer was a big statement of intent from a club that has been wounded in the past few years. The club clearly feels Mourinho is the man to lead them forward.
He has, so far, done a good job. This season is the first since Ferguson’s retirement United have displayed any of their old swagger. They’re not quite back at their brilliant best, but they’re back on the right track. After a slow start in the Premier League, United are only five points behind second placed Tottenham, with a game in hand.
Mourinho’s side are also going strong in the Europa League. They beat St. Etienne comfortably in the round of 32, and face FC Rostov in the round of 16. On paper, they may be the best side in the tournament. After their League Cup triumph, United have already secured a place in next season’s Europa League, but their fans will be expecting Champions League soccer.
Related Story: 25 best club soccer teams of all time
United are also still in the FA Cup, where they face a difficult quarterfinal tie against Chelsea, which they’d be forgiven for taking less than seriously. Mourinho will be desperate to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but a failure to win the FA Cup doesn’t make a huge difference to United’s overall ambitions.
Things are going better for United than their position in the league might suggest, but the margins are very fine at Old Trafford. Failure to qualify for the Champions League for the second season in a row, especially given the spending in the summer, must go down as a failure, even if with the silver lining of an EFL Cup win.