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Despite “bad season”, United still won three trophies under Mourinho, Sky Sports teases.
In an old clip from his time at Manchester United, former manager Jose Mourinho emphasized his team’s achievement of winning three trophies despite a seemingly bad season.
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In an old clip from his time at Manchester United, former manager Jose Mourinho emphasized his team’s achievement of winning three trophies despite a seemingly bad season. (AFP/Glyn Kirk)
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n an old clip from his time at Manchester United, former manager Jose Mourinho emphasized his team’s achievement of winning three trophies despite a seemingly bad season. Sky Sports Retro YouTube channel brought up the clip on May 26, shortly after present-day United, managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, lost to Villareal in the Europa League final.
Mourinho was speaking at a press conference after United had just won the 2017 Europa League at the time.
“In a bad season, in a season where sometimes I felt that my team was the worst team in the world, where I felt sometimes that I was the worst manager in the world, we managed to win three trophies. And we go to the Champions League by winning a trophy,” he said.
Known for its timely old clips that often poke fun at current happenings in football, Sky Sports Retro uploaded the video on its YouTube channel before Sky Sports Football uploaded Solskjaer’s press conference later in the day, where he said that this had not been a “successful season” for United.
“We didn't do enough in the 120 minutes to score more goals, and of course that's the disappointing bit,” the Norwegian manager said about the defeat. “We built pressure, we had moments that we felt that if we can just kick on a little bit here now, we can get the goal, but we just couldn't.”
Read also: Solskjaer's Man Utd rebuild mission laid bare by Europa League agony
United lost to Villareal in a 11-10 penalty shootout, the longest shootout in any UEFA finals in history. With the defeat, United failed yet again to take home its first silverware since Solskjaer took over the club from Mourinho, who was fired in 2018.
On the upside, United finished second in the Premier League, which marks the first time that it managed to finish in the top three consecutively since former manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. It was also unbeaten away from home all throughout the season.
Asked about whether this was a successful season for United all in all, Solskjaer disagreed. “No, it's not a successful season, of course, and that's the fine margins in football. Sometimes you know one kick can define a season as a good one. [...] and one kick [can define that] it's not,” he said, referring to the match.
“Trophies matter and that's what matters at this club,” the 48-year-old also emphasized.
