Manchester United face Feyenoord on Thursday at Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium in their Europa League opener. The club and manager Jose Mourinho are far more used to playing in the Champions League, but will still want to do well in the secondary competition.
Feyenoord’s Dirk Kuyt expected Mourinho not be too fussed about the competition, and so put out a second string, but a chat with Wesley Sneijder has left the 36 year old a little more wary than he was previously.
Quoted by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Kuyt explained: “I’ve been last week with Wesley (Sneijder), and we talked about it.
“When I said that I thought they’d come with a glorified second team, he said something that struck me. It is a prize that Mourinho has never won, and Mourinho knows that so it’s a prize he wants to win. In that case they’ll probably be coming here reasonably strong.”
Mourinho did win the UEFA Cup in 2003 with FC Porto, but hasn’t won the new format of the trophy.
