Manchesters Unite

Aaron Lloyd

Jose Mourinho has been in the news quite a bit lately, with all media outlets pegging him as the next manager of the historic soccer club, Manchester United. Mourinho has been out of a job since being sacked by Chelsea in December, but it has now surfaced that Mourinho is a free agent no more. Mourinho has accepted a three-year deal with Manchester University last week, not the rumored Manchester United.

With Manchester United being a disappointment these last few seasons, the club is rumored to be parting ways with current manager, Louis Van Gaal. Mourinho has been the favorite to take over that position when it officially becomes open. Mourinho has spoken out that the English Premier League is his league of choice to coach because of the competition.

That is what was thought amongst all of the major news outlets for the last couple of months; however, as of last week, Mourinho announced that he will take over as the head coach of the Manchester University Spartans. The move comes as a surprise to everyone in the world of soccer. With the Spartans losing their coach of 38 years a couple of weeks ago, Mourinho quickly threw his name into the hat for a change of scenery. Corey Brueggeman was the assistant coach for the Spartans for the last few seasons and was also the favorite to take over the Spartans. “It is an honor to lose the job to someone with his experience,” Brueggeman said. “Although he did terrible with Chelsea this season, I think that he could have great success at the collegiate level.”

Mourinho has been famous for winning trophies no matter where he goes, at Inter Milan, Real Madrid, or Chelsea. This may be his biggest reason for taking his talents to North Manchester, IN. The Manchester University men’s soccer team has only won one HCAC championship 13 years ago.  He wants to start a winning tradition with the Spartans, as he did with his past jobs.

Players have mixed emotions about their new head coach, with some excited to learn underneath a decorated manager like Mourinho and others dreading to play for a coach who has been known to get under the skin of his players. Simon Coleman, a junior midfielder for the team is looking forward to see where Mourinho can take the team. “He is a decent coach with great experience,” he said. “Hopefully he can put us in the conference tournament this year.”

Sophomore defender Andy Giles also believes that Mourinho will lead the team to a conference tournament. “Being a Manchester City fan, it’s hard for me to get along with a manager who was just sacked by Chelsea,” he said. “Despite that and Mourinho’s notoriety for being arrogant and self-centered, I believe that he will help us secure our first conference championship in years.”

When asked about how he thinks the players will adjust to Mourinho’s abrasive style of coaching, Brueggeman says that he hopes they will embrace it. “It’s not all the time that you get your personal space taken over by one of the most prolific coaches in the world.”