Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf have Manchester United’s manager on the front page of their Thursday sport pull-out, with the headline ‘Circus Mourinho’.
Jose Mourinho and his Manchester United squad are rolling into Rotterdam for the match against Feyenoord this evening, and De Telegraaf aren’t sure how much of the manager’s show is real.
‘Is it theatre? Or is it reality’ ask the newspaper, and it’s clear they believe that Mourinho’s mind games over the years, his working of fans and the media, mean that it’s now incredibly difficult to work out when he’s saying something for impact, and when his words are instead sincere.
De Telegraaf say it was easy to tell when Mourinho was due in the press conference at De Kuip on Wednesday, because those attending went quiet and the photographers could be heard accompanying him toward the room.
When in there, it appears De Telegraaf expected some critical questions from the English media, after the defeat to Manchester City and the perceived tactical mistakes. Instead, it’s stated the English media were gentle in their approach, which is a surprise for the newspaper, given that they remember the treatment Louis van Gaal got last year.
Of course, Van Gaal had largely failed in his final Manchester United season, but De Telegraaf believe even that one game would have led to harsher treatment: ‘Louis van Gaal with a performance like that against City last weekend would have been flattened.’
Mourinho almost certainly got kinder treatment with regards to Chelsea’s collapse last season, in comparison to Van Gaal at Manchester United, but then that could all be part of the ‘circus’ and the advantages it brings for the Portuguese.
Van Gaal was happy to go toe to toe with the media, and many didn’t like it. Mourinho has a different approach, at least when managing an English club, and it’s not worked too badly for him.
