Henry Winter:
‘The cocky young coach of Porto, Jose Mourinho, played a
dangerous game late on Wednesday night. Having seen his
players outclass Manchester United, having endured Sir Alex
Ferguson's graceless reaction to defeat, Mourinho should
have walked off smiling into the night, knowing the 2-1
victory gave him the edge going into the March 9 second leg
of this Champions League last-16 tie.
‘Instead Mourinho, the new kid on the European coaching
block, chose to deliver certain views on Ferguson, a manager
taking charge of his 100th Champions League game. Mourinho's
words were coated in honey, but the content was sour, a fact
that Ferguson will not only have detected but will use to
motivate him, his team and United's supporters back at Old
Trafford.
‘In two sentences Mourinho had questioned the commitment of
Ferguson's players and their manager's spending strategy.
Mourinho was right in that his players were superior
tactically and tempera- mentally to United's. He was correct
in wondering whether Ferguson had invested his club's
millions wisely in the transfer market. But he was naive
indeed to air such thoughts in public.
‘Ferguson loves a fight and like a bruised, ageing
heavyweight he will be inflamed by the remarks of this brash
contender. Ferguson has come off the ropes before to win,
though this time the challenge borders on the
insurmountable. United will be without Roy Keane, suspended
for dropping his foot into goalkeeper Vitor Baia, and their
defence is alarmingly vulnerable to aerial assaults.
‘Lacking in defensive security, Ferguson's players should
not be short on determination. Mourinho's ill-judged
comments in Portugal have seen to that.’