In the face of all the speculations surrounding Louis van Gaal’s possible departure from Manchester United, one of their midfield stars has spoken in glowing terms about the man who is widely being rumored to be his replacement — Jose Mourinho.
Ander Herrera has not been a regular starter in Van Gaal’s Manchester United this season and the 26-year-old midfielder has recently come to the defence of none other than former Chelsea gaffer Jose Mourinho, the man who is being touted to be circling around the managerial position at Old Trafford, just waiting to pounce if Van Gaal falters.
“I find that funny [that Mourinho is considered negative],” he said in an interview with Spanish publication Marca. “Let’s see, Mourinho played at Chelsea with Cesc [Fabregas], Willian, Oscar, [Eden] Hazard and Diego Costa. There was only [Nemanja] Matic as a defensive midfielder. That’s not an attractive style of play?”
“Or at Madrid, where his side scored a record amount of goals in one year?” [via: goal.com]
The Spaniard also praised Mourinho’s treatment of his players, saying that he managed to soak up the pressure to protect his players.
The hero the Red Devils don’t want, but maybe the hero they need
The main reservation that die hard fans of Manchester United are likely to have against Jose Mourinho is that he is often understood to be a defensive manager. They have often been at the receiving end of his ‘park the bus’ philosophy, and would probably not find it as an appealing change from the present ‘keep the ball’ philosophy at the club.
However, as Herrera pointed out later in the interview, Mourinho’s Chelsea won the league with 4 weeks to spare last season. The Blues also scored 73 goals under the Portuguese manager in that campaign, the second highest in the league after Manchester City and 11 more than Manchester United, while conceding the fewest goals in the league.