Inter Milan-Manchester United: José Mourinho's First Season a Failure

When José Mourinho arrived on the Peninsula and at Inter Milan, the expectations for the self-proclaimed Special One sky rocketed.

The Champions League was the undisputed number-one priority, and the Milan club that had waited since 1965 would surely experience European glory at last.

Mourinho was to succeed where his predecessor had failed, as Roberto Mancini, despite bringing the club their first Scudetto since 1989, was sacked ahead of the current campaign due to the repeated failures in Europe’s finest tournament.

The Portuguese started off in a cheery manner despite the club’s early stumble, but Inter soon began to churn out the points needed and get ahead on the table.  The team showcased some less than convincing performances as the players clearly struggled with Mourinho’s preferred 4-3-3, which also left the Inter tactician’s vision of the indestructible machine far away.

Then came the Champions League—Inter and Mourinho’s number one priority.

Drawn alongside Anorthosis Famagusta, Werder Bremen, and Panathinaikos, Inter had by far one of the easiest groups on paper. Still, the Nerazzurri struggled surprisingly hard and only managed to collect a low eight points in six games as they continued onto the knock-out stages second after surprise group winner Panathinaikos.

Mourinho was furious with the team’s performance and raged about the eight points—which to date is his worst-ever record in a Champions League group stage campaign.

When it was time for the draw to the first knock-out stage of the tournament, Mourinho stated that his preferred opponents were Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

As we all know this is exactly what happened.

Mourinho's reasoning behind favouring this draw was simply that there would be no way Inter would underestimate their opponent, which he believed may have beeen the reason behind the poor results in the group stages.

Manchester United dominated the first leg at the San Siro despite their rearguard crises at the time and even though Inter stepped up their game remarkably in the second half, it wasn’t enough and the tie ended in a goalless draw.

The return leg at the Old Trafford was electric.  Despite Nemanja Vidic giving the home side the lead after a mere four minutes, the Nerazzurri players refused to give up.  They showed real team spirit and will as they set sail towards United’s half.

It only took another four minutes into the restart before Cristiano Ronaldo added to the goal tally. Despite the vertical climb that Inter faced, they kept their hope intact, and both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano managed to hit the woodwork. Even though several golden opportunities to score presented themselves, the players simply weren’t able to find the back of the net.

Manchester United played far from their greatest game but they had something that Inter lacked that night—effectiveness in front of the goal.

Mourinho’s face on the sidelines said it all it’s safe to say that he had a lot of explaining to do for Massimo Moratti after the game.

Although Inter looks like they’re cruising towards their third-consecutive Scudetto, it was expected by many to be a byproduct by Mourinho’s mere presence at the club. The Portuguese mastermind’s first season—before it is even over—can be summed up in one word.

Failure.

The club made no secret that their main priority this season was to win the Champions League and by failing to accomplish the main goal—there is no other way to put it. On top of that the club, looks to be missing out on the Coppa Italia final for the first time in four years.

This naturally brings forth the question of whether or not the former Porto coach will remain at Inter next season. The Inter coach has looked unsettled at times and has already had several outbursts towards media. Nasty tongues in Italy whisper that Moratti already has contacted former coach Roberto Mancini, but for now we will simply have to wait and see.

Mourinho blamed the defeat to Manchester United on bad luck. It is true that champions always have to rely on that extra bit of luck to take them all the way, and even though Inter has had Lady Luck on their side in the domestic league, the same has hardly been the case in Europe.

Hats off to Inter for the spirit they showed against the Englishmen.  They truly gave the reigning European champions a good run for their money. Just like their Serie A colleagues Juventus and Roma, the Nerazzurri walked out with their heads held high.

Better luck next time.