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Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. If you’re a Manchester United fan, it might be time to start to worry.
Sure, when the 2018/19 Premier League campaign comes to a close, we’d expect the Red Devils to be there or thereabouts in a top-four position, but it remains to be seen whether manager Jose Mourinho will still be in the Old Trafford dugout by that point.
Following United’s 3-1 away defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, the Old Trafford faithful have begun to call for the Portuguese’s head.
Mourinho hasn’t exactly had a smooth summer, spending his time lambasting a lack of signings, moaning about his World Cup stars needing extra time off, trying to position any title-winning pressure on to his rivals, and handing Anthony Martial a fine for having the audacity to stay by his wife’s side after she gave birth to their second child.
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One other key element that also needs to be kept in mind is the fact that Jose Mourinho has never stayed in one managerial job for longer than three seasons. And what season is he in at Man Utd right now? Why, he’s just entering his third.
Despite winning trophy after trophy at FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Chelsea for a second stint, the longest he’s been in one job is the 1,176 days in charge of Chelsea during his first spell at Stamford Bridge.
Other than that, only one other job has lasted for over 1,000 days. Right now, his time at Manchester United is barely over the 800-day mark, and he could well be edging towards the exit door.
With all of that in mind then, here’s the top six candidates to replace Jose should his time at Old Trafford indeed come to an end sooner rather than later.
#6 Leonardo Jardim
At Monaco, Leonardo Jardim has carved out a name for himself as one of the most exciting young managers in world football.
Despite the clear financial pulling power of Paris St-Germain, Jardim has still managed to keep Monaco relatively competitive against the Paris club, even taking Monaco to the Ligue 1 title in the 2016-2017 season.
Not only has Jardim managed to keep Monaco competitive in such trying circumstances – as in, your main rival has enough to money to by nearly any player on the planet – but he’s done so with such style, such verve, and in such an enthralling way.
The 44-year-old Jardim has given his team a sense of freedom, a sense of trust, and has let them play flowing, attacking football as he’s mixed savvy older heads with some of the most exciting youngsters in the game.
Players such as Falcao, Thomas Lemar, Fabinho, Tiemoue Bakayoko, and, of course, Kylian Mbappe have all flourished under Jardim’s stewardship, and the manager has in turn been hotly tipped to move to one of European football’s superpowers.
Even though they have very different approaches to their footballing philosophies these days, Jardim is actually a huge admirer of Jose Mourinho and sees his fellow Portuguese as a huge influence on his career.
Could he eventually up replacing his countryman in the Old Trafford dugout?
#5 Max Allegri
Absurdly, Juventus have won the last seven Serie A league titles. These days, the famed Old Lady is hands-down the dominant force in Italian football – and to make things worse for their rivals, they’ve gone out and signed Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.
For Juve’s last four championship titles, they’ve been led by Max Allegri, and the expectation is that Allegri will again lead this most prestigious of Italian clubs to Serie A glory in the 2018-2019 campaign.
But going back to before Allegri was in charge of Juventus, he has the honor of actually being the man in charge the last time a side other than Juve won Serie A; that being Allegri’s AC Milan team back in the 2010-2011 season.
The point being made here is that, yes, Max Allegri is a rather successful fella. Not only has he won a total of five Serie A titles throughout his career, but he’s also won several Coppa Italia titles, a Supercoppa Italiana, been the runner-up in two Champions League finals, and even won Serie C1 with Sassuolo.
With countryman, Antonio Conte’s Stamford Bridge future up in the air this past summer, Allegri was hotly tipped to become the Chelsea manager before that gig went to Maurizio Sarri. But back before those Chelsea stories, Allegri was actually rumored to be under consideration to replace Jose Mourinho at Manchester United earlier this year.
Obviously, nothing came of those “Allegri to Old Trafford” stories back then, but with seemingly nothing left to prove in Italy – bar a Champions League win for Juventus – one would have to think that Allegri could be a perfect fit to replace Mourinho should the Portuguese’s time at Utd come to an end.
#4 Antonio Conte
We’re sure the Chelsea faithful would be in an uproar if yet another of their Premier League-winning managers were to end up in the Old Trafford hot seat, but Antonio Conte ending up at Manchester United is not as bonkers as it may first sound.
Right now, Conte is a free agent, having been linked with several managerial jobs over the summer. Having shown how well he can adapt to the Premier League style, Conte impressed many by winning the Premier League in his very first season at Chelsea.
Things didn’t end well for the Italian, however, and he reportedly fell out with several key players during his final months at the club.
He may be feisty and fiery, but Antonio Conte has always been a winner. Back to his playing days, and he won five Serie A championships during his time at Juventus, not to mention the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.
After transitioning to the manager’s dugout, he won Serie B with Bari, then led his beloved Juve to three more Serie A titles before departing for Chelsea.
Out of all of the names on this list, Conte is clearly the biggest wildcard, and the Manchester United board may not be keen to replace one easily agitated, temperamental manager with another so soon should Jose Mourinho leave Old Trafford.
#3 Diego Simeone
Speaking of feisty characters, do they get any more intense and passionate than Diego Simeone? The former midfield destroyer has flourished into one of the most well-regarded managers in world football, and his stock is as high as it’s ever been as he manages to consistently keep his Atletico Madrid side in the mix with the giants of Barcelona and Real Madrid; even winning La Liga in 2013-2014.
Simeone is a strict disciplinarian, but he also constantly pushes his teams to be expressive and to attack with pace and power – traits that a certain Alex Ferguson instilled in his various Manchester United sides over his legendary tenure in charge at Old Trafford.
It was revealed earlier this year in The Times that there is reportedly only one Premier League club that Simeone would be interested in managing, and you guessed it, that club is Man Utd.
Those same reports claim that Simeone actually held talks with Utd back in 2014 about replacing David Moyes as manager. Those talks ultimately came to nothing, and Simeone has continued to increase his stock by constantly showing his quality at Atletico.
If you polled the Old Trafford faithful on who they’d next like to see as their manager, there’s a good chance that Diego Simeone would for sure be one of the top contenders in the mix.
#2 Zinedine Zidane
Nobody in football history has a managerial record that’s as good as Zinedine Zidane’s. In charge of Real Madrid for just two years and four months, Zizou won three Champions Leagues, one La Liga title, a Spanish Super Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Just think about that for a second. In just over two years in charge of Los Blancos, Zidane won the Holy Grail of the Champions League three times. Even in his illustrious playing career, the legendary French playmaker only managed to win one Champions League.
Bizarrely, whether Zidane is actually that great of a manager is still largely up for debate. By that, we mean that at Madrid he had a team that could essentially manage itself; a team who reacted far better to a hands-off approach and a manager who just let the players play.
But let’s think about it for a minute. A giant of European football, with a bunch of players who need an arm around their shoulder, to just be allowed to play their natural game? That description fits both Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Given how so many of the Red Devils’ current squad seem in desperate need of a manager who simply believes in them, Zidane could be the positive influence that they need.
Adding even further to this, Sky Sports has recently reported that the Old Trafford hierarchy is already discussing the possibility of replacing Jose Mourinho with one of the most beautiful footballers to ever play the game, Zinedine Zidane.
#1 Mauricio Pochettino
Is the top entry of this feature really a surprise? Let’s face it, the majority of the Old Trafford faithful would jump at the chance to see Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino in charge of their team.
Since moving to the Premier League with Southampton, Poch has marked himself as one of the very best managers in the world. His Spurs side has been so fantastic to watch over the past few seasons, with the team having a great mix of experience and youth, with flowing, attacking football the order of the day.
The only issue that the Argentinian has, mind, is that he’s constantly reminded at every turn how, sure, Tottenham may be great to watch, but Pochettino and his entertaining side have yet to win a single trophy.
Regardless of how much people are enjoying watching Spurs these days, there’s always going to be those people who will happily throw their lack of trophies back at them. But what about if Pochettino ended up at Manchester United?
According to ex-Spurs star-turned-media pundit Jermaine Jenas, United are one of only two clubs who could possibly prise him from Tottenham – the other being Real Madrid – and many are expecting the Red Devils to go hard to land Pochettino should Mourinho depart Old Trafford.
A manager who expects his players to work tirelessly, yet one who lets them express themselves, Poch is every fan’s dream.
