They’ve done it all. “That’s the level you’re talking about with Man United, they’re one of the world’s elite football teams”.
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Despite being injured for the Europa League final, Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was still one of the most prominent talking points of the fixture. The fact a team can win a trophy while doing so adds to the lure, as Mourinho pointed out on Wednesday. And it was fitting that substitute Wayne Rooney lifted the mammoth trophy in Stockholm following their 2-0 defeat of Ajax on Wednesday, in what could be his last appearance for the club. The club now has every title in world football.
And they got a helping hand from Ibrahimovic as they sought to hang on to victory, with the 35-year-old secretly communicating with the stadium’s ball boys in their native Swedish and encouraging them to waste time.
“We came without the happiness we should bring with us, because when you come for these big matches, you come happy, you come proud”.
“We play Champions League next season, we could celebrate three trophies and we are happy for that”.
‘That’s why yesterday we didn’t want to have the press conference because we had to prepare ourselves to do our job and to try to forget events that are obviously much more important. “You know, if you’re asking me if I’m a better player now than I was 10 years ago, then obviously I’m not but I still feel I’ve got other qualities that can help the team and as I said, it’s a decision now I’ll make in the next couple of weeks”.
The Dutch team, once giants of the game, fought bravely but can no longer really compete against the elite.
The uncertainty stemmed from the fact that it was Mourinho who opted to sell Mata to Manchester United when he was in charge at Chelsea back in January 2014.
“Like I said, these young kids are not used to playing a final”, Bosz said.
“I really am unhappy about this”. And all those records fell for a record-breaking manager.
And added to the two Champions League titles Mourinho won with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010, it makes him the first coach to clinch both the European trophies a few times.
Jose Mourinhohas challenged the “fragile” members of Manchester United’s squad to develop a winner’s mentality after admitting they risk losing his trust amid his persistent struggles to understand players who do not share his own fierce will to win.
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It will be interesting to see how Arsenal approaches the Europa League next season after its fifth-place finish in the Premier League.
