S Poddar
Portuguese enigma and manager extraordinaire José Mourinho has once again re-heated the football world with a delicious proposal. Perhaps, in an interesting turn of event, Mourinho can already boast his fourth Premier League title with Manchester United – the most unlikely scenario until recently.
It won’t be long before their appeal becomes an academic exercise, although it only serves as a nice irony that City’s alleged financial breaches should prompt this unexpected twist. Should City be found guilty, sanctions surely follow: including the possibility of stripping them of their 2018 title, the runner-up finish that season by Mourinho will be retrospectively upgraded to a championship.
Reflecting on his spell at Old Trafford, Mourinho seemed content to have achieved much. “We won the Europa League, finished second in the Premier League. I think we still have a chance to win that league,” he said, referring to the title which might be bestowed in absentia.
Infused with a particularly sense of humor, Mourinho’s words also dramatically point to the unpredictable nature of football. In fact, stripping a title and handing it out to someone else is something that happens very rarely, though the entire investigation into City’s affairs has left a knottiness in the whole Premier League scenario.
There is also a glimpse of Mourinho’s competitive spirit in his playful comments. Even though he’s moved away, he follows United and secretly holds up for the club’s success. His hope that United would gain by City’s ‘possible decline’ is a manifestation of his ambition never to end.
The situation itself has entered an interesting tangle with Mourinho’s statements as Fenerbahce prepares to face Manchester United in the Europa League, though the case is still open regarding the findings from the investigation into the alleged financial misconduct by City. After all, it was Mourinho’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion that really had an effect on the heated debate of the football fans.
Beyond the Title:
While this prospect of a very late Premier League title is exciting, too, Mourinho’s statement raises deeper questions about the real nature of success in football. Can a title won in such circumstances ever be said to reflect the on-field superiority of a team? Or are all titles just the result of a quirk of fate?
Regardless of what the City investigation brings, Mourinho’s legacy as a Premier League manager is well-set in stone. His three championship-winning seasons with Chelsea and nearly doing it again with United have ensured him a place as one of the most successful coaches in the annals of English football history.
As Mourinho looks to the future of managing Fenerbahce, his jesting statements reminded one of his love for the game and of his own level of skill that never wavers. Whether he ever collects the fourth Premier League trophy to add to his collection, the impact made by Mourinho on the English game will be remembered for many years.
