JOSE MOURINHO has hailed two of his less glamorous former Manchester United stars for their role in overpowering Ajax in the 2017 Europa League final.
And the Special One claims European giants today are copying some of the “route one” aspects to his gameplans.
United were comfortable 2-0 winners over the Dutch side in Stockholm, with Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan bagging the goals.
But Mourinho has now revealed that central to his tactics were a back-up goalkeeper and a midfielder who was a figure of fun for much of his time at Old Trafford.
He told The Telegraph: “I won a Europa League final with [long balls from] Sergio Romero to Marouane Fellaini.
“Ajax pressing – but pressing oxygen because the ball was not there.
“Ball to Fellaini’s chest. Play from there. Two-nil. Bring the cup home. Three titles. Disaster of a season.”
Mourinho this month sat down and watched Barcelona take on PSG in the Champions League.
And he was delighted to see Barca – a club that had proved not just one of his biggest rivals, but a nemesis in terms of playing style – implementing many of the ideas he had taught at United.
Mourinho commented: “Lots of long balls from [Marc-Andre] Ter Stegen to [Robert] Lewandowski on the build-up.
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Those numbers in full:
“Paris trying to press higher, Ter Stegen to Lewandowski, Lewandowski chest, control and play from that position.”
Marouane Fellaini was brought in under David Moyes from Everton in 2013 and was mocked by many fans for his playing style, despite proving essential to Mourinho’s ideas.
He would leave the club in 2019 – a month after Mourinho’s own departure – and spend four seasons at Chinese side Shandong Taishan before hanging up his boots last year.
Sergio Romero played second fiddle to David de Gea for the entirety of his six years at Old Trafford, despite being Argentina’s first choice.
However, he was chosen as the cup goalkeeper under every United manager he played for.
And Mourinho maintained his trust in the Argentine right the way through to the Europa League final against Ajax.
The Special One’s successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on the other hand, would normally bring De Gea back for the showpiece occasions, and was sacked in 2021 without delivering a trophy.
This would cause issues with Romero, whose wife was a stinging critic of Solskjaer’s, especially as De Gea underperformed in the 2020 FA Cup semi-final loss against Chelsea and the 2021 Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.
Romero now plays for Boca Juniors alongside former Man Utd team-mate Marcos Rojo, and reached the Copa Libertadores final last season before losing to Fluminense.
