Paul Pogba Says Jose Mourinho Deserves 'Special One' Name Due to Winning Record

Jose Mourinho deserves his "Special One" moniker after winning the UEFA Europa League and EFL Cup in his first season in charge of Manchester United, according to Red Devils midfielder Paul Pogba.

United also won the Community Shield in the Portuguese manager's first season and, although the Manchester outfit struggled to sixth place in the Premier League, Pogba was clearly impressed with Mourinho, per Sky Germany (via Goal's Chris Myson):

"He is The Special One because he wins. Sometimes he does some extreme things. Against Chelsea, he changed our tactical formation just before the game. We had never trained it before but it worked out well [United won 2-0]. That was special. He won three trophies in his first year, that's special as well. He deserves his name."

Mourinho, 54, famously gave himself the title of "Special One" when he was first appointed Chelsea manager back in 2004 after winning the UEFA Champions League with Porto.

"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one," he said, per ESPN FC.

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It became hard to argue with his assessment as he won six league titles and another Champions League during his spells at Stamford Bridge, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

However, he left his second stint as Chelsea boss under a cloud in December 2015, with the defending Premier League champions sitting one point above the relegation zone.

Mourinho's reputation was in need of some rebuilding when he took the United job last summer, and he made some impactful signings, bringing in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pogba from Juve for a world-record £89 million fee.

Home league draws plagued his United side during 2016-17, as they finished seven points off the top four and 24 behind champions Chelsea.

However, Mourinho did guide United back to the Champions League after their Europa League final victory over Ajax last month, and an EFL Cup triumph also contributed to a decent season.

Failure to launch a Premier League title challenge next season will likely result in dissent being aimed at Mourinho.

But, for now, it seems he has done enough to satisfy fans and players alike in his debut season at Old Trafford.