Jose Mourinho was sent off but he could celebrate anyway. Not on Sunday – then he was simply dismissed from the dugout – but the best part of 12 years ago. Mourinho had made a premature departure from the touchline for goading Liverpool fans but his Chelsea team nevertheless won 3-2.
They lifted the League Cup. It was Mourinho’s first trophy in England and the first of three times he won the competition.
As Mourinho contemplates a reunion with West Ham United, three days after he was sent to the stands as Slaven Bilic’s team drew 1-1 at Old Trafford, it is with that initial success forming part of the subplot. Should United win the League Cup, Mourinho will equal the managerial record of four triumphs.
It is shared by Alex Ferguson, his most illustrious predecessor at Old Trafford, and Brian Clough, to whom he was often compared upon his emergence, considering their radiant charisma and gift for controversy. Mourinho could soon be in select company.
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It would serve as a timely reminder he ranks among the greats, and will continue to do so even if he fails at United. His enemy Arsene Wenger was the import who became the joint most successful manager in the history of the FA Cup. Mourinho could emulate him, albeit in a lesser competition.
As he seeks a repeat of 2005, there are also stark differences. Then Mourinho won the Premier League. Now, with United 11 points behind Chelsea, that already looks improbable. Now, with them eight off the top four, it could provide a silver lining to what threatens to be an underwhelming season.
The problem, perhaps, is that his influence may have rubbed off on others. Mourinho reshaped attitudes towards the League Cup. When he arrived in England in 2004, three of the previous five winners were Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough. The Portuguese recognised it was the most winnable trophy, prompting Ferguson and then Manuel Pellegrini to adopt a similar enthusiasm for it.
Now only two of the past 12 winners, Swansea City and Birmingham City, are outsiders.
West Ham, 16th in the Premier League and without a trophy in 36 years, would represent similarly unlikely winners but blue-chip opponents may beckon in latter stages.
First, however, Mourinho must do what he could not on Sunday and overcome West Ham.
“I think it will be a completely different game,” defender Phil Jones said.
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The personnel will show some differences. Paul Pogba is banned, collecting his fifth caution of the campaign for the dive that prompted Mourinho to lose his cool at the weekend.
Wayne Rooney, who only needs one goal to equal Bobby Charlton’s club record of 249, may return to the starting XI.
It will be intriguing if Bastian Schweinsteiger, surprisingly named on the bench on Sunday, makes his first appearance under Mourinho or if Henrikh Mkhitaryan is granted the chance to build upon an encouraging display against Feyenoord last Thursday. A third game in seven days ought to mean Mourinho rotates, though he has tended to make fewer changes than many of his peers. It explains his excellent record in this competition.
Meanwhile, West Ham will be without Sunday’s scorer, Diafra Sakho, who suffered a hamstring injury, which means Bilic may choose between Simone Zaza, Ashley Fletcher, Andre Ayew and Michail Antonio in attack. Whoever plays, Mourinho will be scrutinised to see if he keeps his cool on the touchline, rather than kicking another water bottle.
Back in 2005, his dismissal against Liverpool came for putting his fingers to his lips and gesturing towards their fans. More than a decade on, he may see a fourth League Cup win as another way to silence his critics.
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