The Manchester United boss had to strike a deal with players over their FA Cup haircuts.
Jose Mourinho thrives in cup competitions. One-off games against teams where meticulous planning and specific tactics can get the better of foes.
The United boss would have liked nothing better than to finish off 2017/18 with an FA Cup trophy to show as a tangible sign of progress being made at the club. United climbed from sixth, the previous season, to second but they were a fair distance off champions Manchester City and were knocked out of Europe by Sevilla.
Going up against Chelsea, a club he managed twice, in the FA Cup offered him further incentive and he left no stone un-turned in getting his side ready to win at Wembley.
Mike Keegan has an interesting piece in The Daily Mail about Mourinho and his pin-point preparations for that final and he also includes some striking insights into United’s post-match dressing room.
It all began on Monday, May 14 as the Portuguese told his squad that they were to clear their diaries for the remainder of the week. United headed to the Grove Hotel in Watford the following day for a mini camp ahead of the game. Here are some of the details of that week:
- No commercial activities or media interviews allowed, either personal or club-related
- Free-time allowed after training but the team had to meet up for at least one daily meal together
- Provision of match-day tickets to family and friends to be sorted before Friday
- Pre-match haircuts to be carried out before Friday
The team headed to the Hilton hotel in London on the Friday before the final and, at that stage, Mourinho was reportedly rejigging his planned starting XI.
Romelu Lukaku had played in the presumptive XI during training sessions in Watford but, according to Keegan, he informed Mourinho that he was not sure he was fit to start. Following the discussion between player and manager, it was decided he would feature on the bench.
Despite all Mourinho’s planning, his team could not contain Eden Hazard and it was his run that led to Phil Jones conceding a penalty that the Belgian would step up, moments after, and slot home. United pressed hard in the second half but could not find an equaliser and Chelsea claimed the trophy.
Interestingly, there was no screaming or finger-pointing from the United boss in the aftermath of the game. Mourinho reportedly approached each player in the match-day squad for a one-on-one chat.
It is hard to tell whether the fight had been knocked out of him or if his personal conversations were with Mourinho looking at the season as a whole.
He is said to have wished the players breaking for summer all the best and told those off to the World Cup that he would be tracking their progress.
The same report concludes with the news that United are close to securing the services of Brazilian midfielder Fred as part of their summer transfer activity.
