We don’t know how much soul-searching Jose Mourinho has been doing in his seven month break from management, but it was pretty much business as usual in his first Manchester United press conference.
The self-professed “Special One” has had plenty of beef with opposition managers over the years, but few feuds have been more fiery than the long-running one he has with Arsene Wenger.
Mourinho and Wenger have been taking potshots at each other since the Portuguese’s first spell at Chelsea, and he has famously described the Arsenal manager as a “specialist in failure.”
The pair also clashed physically during a match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in October 2014.
66-year-old Wenger is the Premier League’s longest-serving manager but has not won the Premier League since the 2003/04 season, something that Mourinho regularly uses as ammunition.
It will come as no surprise, then, that when asked by the media whether or not he can bounce back at Old Trafford after leaving Chelsea for the second time last December, Mourinho’s response is being interpreted by many as yet another thinly-veiled swipe at his old nemesis.
He said: “There are some managers, the last time they won a title was 10 years ago. For me, it was one year.”
Arsenal and Mourinho’s new club have a longstanding rivalry themselves, so expect there to be no love lost when the two coaches share a touchline next season. We’re quite looking forward to it.
