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Was Manchester United’s Reason For Sacking Louis Van Gaal A Forewarning To Jose Mourinho?

Manchester United’s announcement on Monday that Louis Van Gaal had finally been sacked by the club came much later than expected.

It wasn’t until 2030 at night that the club took to their website to declare what we’d all known since Saturday, while we’re still currently waiting for Jose Mourinho to be confirmed as Van Gaal’s replacement.

This hasn’t stopped various reasons for Louis Van Gaal’s sacking from trickling out, though. The Guardian revealed that some players were close to mutiny over the Dutch coach’s approach, while the fact that United didn’t qualify for the Champions League was seen as the perfect, as well as decisive, reason for his departure.

But it was the BBC’s subsequent piece entitled “Louis Van Gaal Sacked By Manchester Utd Over Poor Style Of Play” following the confirmation of his dismissal that felt like a direct message to Jose Mourinho.

The piece then went on to insist that United’s paltry 49 league goals and their lack of attacking play last season, which saw Van Gaal receive a torrent of abuse from the Old Trafford faithful, was the main reason why Jose Mourinho is now on the cusp of usurping his former Barcelona boss.

It was interesting that the BBC felt confident enough to reveal that “poor quality football” was the reason for Van Gaal’s sacking. Especially since all they really needed to remark was that United’s fifth place finish wasn’t good enough for a club of United’s stature.

The BBC must have received this news from a trusted source who was positive that Manchester United wanted it out in the public domain. But rather than being just a superfluous story related to Van Gaal’s sacking, it could easily be interpreted as a pointed forewarning to Jose Mourinho that he needs to oversee attacking football and improve upon his predecessor’s play.

Mourinho’s detractors like to point out that the Portuguese is a negative coach, who isn’t afraid or embarrassed to win ugly. There are many examples – primarily their victory at Liverpool in 2014 and Inter Milan’s second leg at Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League semi-final – where Mourinho has focused on stifling the opposition rather than defeating them with their own attacking flourishes.

Even Eric Cantona couldn’t resist a small dig at the incumbent Manchester United manager, when he told The Guardian on Tuesday, “I love Jose Mourinho, but in terms of the type of football he plays I don’t think he is Manchester United … I don’t think it’s the type of football that the fans of Manchester United will love, even if they win. He can win with Manchester United. But do they expect that type of football, even if they win? I don’t think so.”

It should also be noted that Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t above similar exploits to Mourinho. In the first leg of the 2008 Champions League final at Barcelona United made sure not concede rather than score, while United lost the 2011 title to Manchester City on goal difference after he decided to focus on defensive rather than attack following the Citizens’ 6-1 victory at Old Trafford. Yet it was never quite as obvious or as infuriating as Mourinho’s teams have been in the past.

It’s often overlooked just how potent and deadly Jose Mourinho’s previous sides have been, though. Don’t forget just how free-flowing his first Chelsea side of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, and Eidur Gudjohnson was, as they romped to the title with 95 points, which is still a Premier League record.

Meanwhile it’s his 2011/2012 La Liga winning Real Madrid side that prove just how formidable in attack Mourinho’s teams can be. They scored 121 goals in that campaign, which is still a record, while his Real teams scored over 100 goals in every La Liga campaign he was in charge.

The form of Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema, Didier Drogba, Diego Milito, and Wesley Sneijder under Jose Mourinho prove that he can have as strong an influence on his attackers as he can on his defenders.

The problem is though is that the Mourinho is too defensive narrative has already emerged, which means that a lack of attacking intent from his United team in his first few games could see early cracks emerge. With their sacking of Van Gaal United have made it perfectly clear how integral offensive football is to them. Now it’s Jose’s turn to remind the world that he feels the same way, too.

[Images via Wiki Commons]