Jose Mourinho: Manchester United boss claims Claudio Ranieri is a victim of his own success after brutal Leicester chop
Italian's treatment at King Power evokes memories of Chelsea axe for Mourinho as he tells pal 'history can't be deleted'
FOR Jose Mourinho, the treatment of Claudio Ranieri brought back some horrible memories.
Of how his love affair with Chelsea ended in divorce for a second time.
Of how he, too, was let down by the same players he had guided to the Premier League title a season before.
Fourteen months on and Mourinho’s rehabilitation is already well under way at Manchester United.
Tomorrow, he will lead out his new team in the EFL Cup final against Southampton.
The same competition that triggered the success the Portuguese coach enjoyed at Stamford Bridge — and that he hopes will have a similarly galvanising effect at United.
But Mourinho knows how quickly things can turn, how players seemingly so loyal can let you down.
Still, he claims his treatment at Stamford Bridge last season was not a patch on what has happened to Ranieri — axed by Leicester 298 days after leading the Foxes to the most unlikely title triumph in history.
Mourinho gave his press conference yesterday with the initials CR on his top, in recognition of his pal.
Related Stories
The United boss said: “I thought last season when I was sacked as a champion, I thought it was a giant, negative thing. Now I realise it was peanuts compared with what happened to Claudio.
“You know, I think it is Claudio's fault. If last season instead of being a champion he finished 12th, that would have been amazing and this season he would be still in the job because Leicester just want to not get relegated.
“So it is his fault, he is paying for his success. But this is not just football, I think this is also a bit of our world. Some principles are going away a little bit, so I am really sorry about it.
“But I lived a similar experience. I repeat, peanuts compared with the dimension of Claudio’s.
“But there is something nobody can do — delete the history. So no problem Claudio. Nobody can delete.”
Making history is something Mourinho likes doing, too, and what he did for Chelsea cannot be erased.
Now it is about making history for United. Tomorrow he can go level with Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough with four League Cup wins. It would also make him the first United manager to win a trophy in his debut season.
It might not be his only one, either, with United fighting on two other fronts, in the FA Cup and Europa League.
Mourinho is hopeful that if they can get that winning habit in a final under him tomorrow, they will not want to let it go.
He added: “I think when you taste good things, you want a repeat. I think when you get used to winning, and when you then don’t win, you miss it.You don’t accept it and you are always chasing for more success.
"So I think it’s a good thing for them if we manage to win another trophy and keep fighting because we have chances in other competitions this season.
“We all know the history of this club, but football is changing, it’s much harder than it was before.
“Last season was a very difficult one for the club and players. But they all, together with their manager, managed to win a trophy. It was a good taste for them, so we have to try again.”
So any suggestion that after 41 years without a trophy Southampton might want it more than his United players is dismissed.
Mourinho said: “If they want it more than us, they win, so we have to be sure that they don’t want it more than us.
“Of course they want it a lot, but I don’t think that they want it more than us. The best team on the pitch will win and it will not depend on motivation.
“I found people in my career that despite being super-talented players, they were not naturally born winners.
“People ready to fight every day to win and win and keep winning — people like Frank Lampard — these guys you don’t find every day.
“But we have people that are showing to me they want to win this match. And this match is what matters now.”