It’s no surprise to hear that some football fans are calling for Jose Mourinho to leave Man United given the poor start his side have made in the Premier League this season.
With the former Chelsea boss yet to deliver the Premier League title to Old Trafford despite having spent a huge amount of money, and with the Red Devils losing two of their four league games this year, Mourinho’s doubters are seemingly being proven right.
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Some have called for Mourinho to be sacked and be replaced by former Real Madrid player and manager Zinedine Zidane, a coach who did wonders during his two-and-a-half year spell with Los Blancos.
The Frenchman oversaw his Real side win three consecutive Champions League titles during his time with the club, a feat that any other manager in history is yet to achieve.
Zidane definitely seems like he could be a front-runner in the race to replace Mourinho should the Portuguese coach be sacked, however, there are some reasons as to why United shouldn’t get rid of the 55-year-old just yet.
So, we here at CaughtOffside have picked out five reasons as to why United should refrain from sacking Mourino and bringing in Zidane, at least for the time being….
Experience
It’s hardly rocket science to see that Mourinho is a much more experienced coach than Zidane, which is a given considering the fact he’s nine years older than the Frenchman.
Zidane has only had one job as a manager, albeit a very successful one, and it would be jumping to conclusions by saying that he is one of the best coaches in the world.
The former Real and Juventus midfielder would need to prove himself at more than one club, like Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have, in order to be classed as one of the best managers on the planet.
This is an area Mourinho excels in, as the United boss has had huge success during his stints in charge of Inter Milan, Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid, with the 55-year-old winning the Champions League with two of those four clubs.
There aren’t many more successful or experienced bosses in world football than Mourinho, a factor that the Red Devils manager has in his favour in the argument about whether he should be replaced with Zidane or not.
Doing More With Less
Over his career, Mourinho has consistently shown a knack for being able to pull fantastic results out of the bag despite him not having the best of squads, or most money, available to him.
During his time as Porto manager, Mourinho was the one who masterminded the club’s first-ever Champions League win in 2004, as the Portuguese giants overcame clubs like Man United and Monaco on their way to being crowned European champions.
Moreover, Mourinho showed during his time with Inter that he truly is a manager who’s capable of succeeding despite being limited.
Under Mourinho’s tutelage, the Nerazzurri swept everything before them aside to be crowned champions of Italy and Europe, as they won an historic treble.
This cannot be said for Zidane, as some will claim that the Frenchman’s job in charge of Real was easy as he was given one of the best squads in world football straight from the get-go.
Mourinho won the Champions League with stars like Goran Pandev in his side, whereas Zidane has players like Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And given the fact that United didn’t really improve their squad all that much this summer, there seems no better man for the job at Old Trafford than Mourinho himself.
Premier League Proven
Of the current managers in the Premier League, Mourinho is the only one to have won the title on more than occasion, with the 55-year-old winning the league with Chelsea in 2005, 2006 and 2015.
Mourinho knows better than most how to win a league title, a factor Zidane somewhat struggled with during his time in the Spanish capital.
Real only won one league title during his reign at the Bernabeu, with rivals Barcelona picking up the other two La Liga titles during his stint in Madrid.
Zidane’s last league campaign with the club was one to forget, as Los Blancos finished 3rd, behind both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, with the Blaugrana finishing a whopping 17 points ahead of Real.
There aren’t any managers currently managing in world football that have won the Premier League more times than Mourinho, so it would seem silly to replace the Portuguese with Zidane given his ability to win league titles in England.
Big Character
Give his reputation in the game, there probably aren’t many players out there who don’t rate Mourinho, and all will definitely have heard of him.
Mourinho is presumably respected by nearly everyone given his stature and history of winning, something that Zidane sadly cannot boast about to the same degree.
One could claim that a part of Mourinho being hired is down to his name: everyone knows who he is and knows what he’s won during his time as manager.
Zidane, having only had one managerial job so far, is far from being as big a character in the game as Mourinho is, despite him being able to boast an illustrious playing career.
Having a big name like Mourinho at the club may also help with transfers, as some players may be more enticed to signing for a club if it means they get to work under one of the greatest managers in recent memory.
Squad Suitability
It’s a well-known fact that Jose Mourinho likes a certain type of player, and during his time in clubs, he will, more than likely, only bring in players who suit his system.
Mourinho tends to favour having bigger, more physical players in his squad than those who are light, nimble and tricky, something that’s definitely been on shown during his time at United.
Mourinho has kept stars like Marouane Fellaini at the club, and has signed stars like Nemanja Matic, Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly.
All these players are very good, however the one thing that all have in common is that they are physical powerhouses, the type of player that Mourinho definitely tends to favour.
United have invested a lot of money into their squad, buying players that Mourinho wants and ones that will suit his preferred style, so getting rid of him now would seem like a massive waste of time and money.
Zidane displayed during his time at Real that he has a completely different play style to Mourinho, and prefers those who are dainty and agile rather than more physically-empowering stars like Lukaku or Matic.
Bringing in Zidane would surely require United to spend another heap of cash in order to bring in players and change their squad to Zidane’s liking, something that would certainly take time and would potentially see the club go even more years without a Premier League title.