“Football heritage.”
March 2018. The second year of the Jose Mourinho marriage. After being knocked out of the Champions League by Sevilla, Mourinho took the stage for a pregame interview ahead of the FA Cup. What happened next would go down as one of the standout moments—you decide if it’s a highlight—of his tenure. After another European loss to Sevilla (not just a loss, a fucking ass-whoopin’), I immediately said to myself: “football heritage.”
What’s changed since 2018? Not a damn thing. Thursday’s display in Spain was a certified failure. The team looked inept and not up for it, scared and timid to try anything. No need to assign blame: they all let themselves down.
So, instead of reflecting on that pathetic display, let’s revisit Mourinho’s epic presser to remind ourselves that it wasn’t a rant: it was an accurate assessment of the shitshow that is Manchester United since Sir Alex retired.
Enjoy, transcribed by me as I watched my daughter fall asleep:
“I say to the fans, that the fans are the fans and the fans have the right to have their opinions and have their reactions. But, there is something I used to call football heritage. I don’t know if, I try to translate from my Portuguese, which is almost perfect, to English, which is far from perfect. But translation, word for word, is something like football heritage. And um, what a manager inherits is something like the last time Manchester United won the Champions League, which didn’t happen a lot of times, was 2011—the final, the final was 2011. Since 2011, 2012 out in the group phase. The group was almost the same group as we had this season: Benfica, Basel, and Galati from Romania. Out in the group phase. In 2013, out at Old Trafford in the last 16, I was in the other bench. In 2014, out in the quarterfinal. In 2015, no European football. In 2016, comes back to European football, out in the group phase, goes to Europa league, and on the second knockout, out of Europa League. On 2017, play Europa League, win Europa League, with me, and goes back to Champions League. In 2018, win the group phase with 15 points in possible 18, and loses at home the last 16. So in seven years, with four different managers, once not qualify for Europe, twice out in the group phase, and the best was a quarterfinal. This is football heritage. And if you want to go to the Premier League, the last victory was 13, 12-13, and in the four consecutive seasons, United finish fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. … so in the last four years, the best was fourth. This is football heritage. Means, that when you start the process, you are here, you are there, or you are there, is heritage—is heritage. And if the fans, that I will always respect, always respect, if the fans and many of them are the ones you speak with, many of them are the ones I speak with, and I am very lucky and you are very unlucky, but the ones that speak with you are very disappointed, and the ones I speak with, know what is football heritage, know what is a process, and know when I arrived. When I arrived in Real Madrid, do you know how many players played quarterfinal of champions league? Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo with Manchester United. All the others? Not even a quarterfinal. That is football heritage.”
“Those stats…”
“are real. Do you want other real? I’ll give you a couple more real. The last seven years, the worst position for Manchester City in the PL was fourth. In the last seven years, MC was champion twice, and if you want to say three times because they will be in one more week two, three, or four, and they were second twice. That’s heritage. Do you know what is also heritage? Is that Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, they are investments from the past. Not from the last two years. From the past. Do you know how many of United players that left the club last season, see where they play. How they play. If they play. That’s football heritage. And one day when I leave, one day when I leave, the next Manchester Untied manager will find here Lukaku, Matic, of course De Gea from many years ago, they will find players with a different mentality, with a different quality, with a different background, with a different status, with a different knowhow. And for some reason, you go to the Champions League quarterfinal like today, and there are there four clubs that they are always there, always there. Barcelona is always there in the past 7 or 8 years, RM is always there in the past 7 or 8 years, Juventus is always there, Bayern Munich is always there, and then of course appear now and again another club like my Inter, like some other clubs, like Monaco last season, some clubs that…but the ones that are always there, is for some reason, is for some reason. And the good thing for me, and the amazing feeling for me, is that I am exactly on the same page as the owners, as Mr. Woodward, as Mr. Arnold, we are exactly on the same page, we agree on everything, we agree we have a process, we agree in the investments, we agree we have what we have, the investments we are going to do are going to be progressively season after season, we also need more than investments, we need the time. So, life is good, I have an amazing job to do. Yesterday I met a new person we have in the club, working in a different area, nothing to do with my job, it was a person that came from another club, and I ask, why did you decide to come? And the person told me, because I did a fantastic job at another club, and at this club, I have a big, huge job in front of me to do, so I come for the challenge. Well done, well done. My decision to come here was based on the same thing. I could be in another country with a league in the pocket, the kind of league you even win before the league starts, but I’m not, I’m here. I’m here, and I’m going to be here, and no way, no way I’m going to change my mentality. For me, I don’t know if you know the expression, I don’t know if the translation to English makes you understand, but there is a quote that I like which is something like ‘in every wall is a door.’ Every wall is a door. I’m not going to run away, I’m not going to disappear, I’m not going to cry, because I ehard a few boos, I’m not going to disappear from the tunnel, running immediately. The next match, I’ll be the first to go out. I respect the fans, I’m not afraid of anything, I’m not afraid of my responsibilities. when I was 20 years old, I was nobody in football. I was somebody’s son. What was, what I was, with a lot of pride, at 20 years old I was somebody’s son, and now, with 55, I am what I am, I did what I did, because of work, because of my talent, and because of my mentality. So, you know, they can be together, I can understand that for many, many, many, many years it was really, really hard for the people that don’t like me, here he is again, here he wins again, here he is again, here he wins again. So for 10- months I win nothing, for 10 months I win nothing, the last title that I won was 10 months ago, I beat Liverpool, I beat Chelsea, I lose against Sevilla and now is their moment to be happy. OK. You know, I also learn that in my religious formation be happy with other’s happiness, even if the others are your enemies. so be it. I’m a really lucky guy, and I’m happy to be what I am.”
With another FA Cup game looming and the chance for a rapid reaction, there’s hope that another loss to Sevilla in Europe is just a bump on the road that’s been rocky all along. A second Cup final—and a real shot at a second trophy—could help continue to turn the tide on United’s football heritage under Ten Hag, but a loss Sunday throws the great start and blistering post-World Cup run of this team’s work out the window—and adds another year to the tally of listless ones
A Whately Devil 