Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has come under a lot of flak after his team’s latest demise at his old stomping ground, as the new look Chelsea under Antonio Conte took the Red Devils to the cleaners, inflicting a 4-0 defeat on the record Premier League Champions. Whilst many believed that the ‘Special One’ would be able to bring back the glory days back to Old Trafford, his former skipper at Inter Milan, Lucio certainly doesn’t feel the same.
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The defender, who at 38-years old is moving into the twilight of his career, spent some of his most successful years during his 3-year stint at the San Siro with Inter Milan whilst Mourinho was at the helm. The Portuguese enjoyed three trophy-laden seasons with Inter with Lucio as the main man in defence, leading the club to five trophies which included two Serie A titles and a Champions League triumph in 2010.
Currently plying his trade in the Indian Super League as the skipper of FC Goa, the 38-year-old believes that Jose Mourinho won’t be able to replicate the successes he has had with Inter in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.
“With regards to his (Mourinho’s) current job, I’m sure he will do very well at United but I’m not sure if he can replicate the successes of Inter.” quipped the Brazilian legend.
After going off to a flying start which saw Manchester United lift the season-opening Charity Shield and win all three of their opening Premier League fixtures, United’s season under Mourinho has gone off the boil in recent times. And last Sunday’s embarrassing defeat at Stamford Bridge now sees them in seventh place; already six points off the pace.
In an honest disclosure, Lucio felt that the entire blame should not be put on Mourinho. "At United, the players are big personalities on and off the pitch. The spotlight on them is stronger," felt the FC Goa skipper. “Back at Inter, it was a lot more relaxed. But we will see, how it goes.”
Goa team has a lot of potential
Lucio, who has seen and won it all in the world of football. From lifting the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 to winning on the biggest stage in Europe in the UEFA Champions League, has seen his team struggle of late. After finishing runners-up last season, the Brazilian sees his team dead last as the first month of action comes to an end in the ISL.
However, Lucio is hopeful that things will turn around for his team in the near future. Stating their way forward, Lucio stated, “We have a lot of the players who have returned from last year and we have some replaced the ones that have been unable to come back well too. I think this team has a lot of potential.”
FC Goa seemed to have turned a corner after gaining four points from the games against Kolkata and Mumbai, but their resurgence was hit with a blockade when they came crashing down to lose against the Kerala Blasters, even after taking the lead early on at their home stadium.
Both Manchester United and FC Goa will now look to resurrect their seasons when they clash against Manchester City (in the EFL Cup) and the Delhi Dynamos (In the ISL) respectively.
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