“I say to the fans that the fans are the fans and have the right to their opinions and reactions but there is something that I used to call football heritage. I don’t know if, I try to translate from my Portuguese, which is almost perfect, to my English, which is far from perfect, football heritage.”
“And what a manager inherits is something like the last time Manchester United won the Champions League which didn’t happen a lot of times, was in 2008. Since 2011, 2012, out in the group phase, the group was almost the same group we had this season, Benfica, Basel and Galati from Romania.”
“Out in the group phase in 2013 out at Old Trafford in the last 16, I was on the other bench. In 2014, out in the Quarter Final. In 2015, no European football. In 2016, comes back to European football, out in the group phase, goes to Europa League and on the second knockout out of the Europa League. In 2017, play Europa League, win Europa League with me and goes back to CL.”
“In 2018, win the group phase with 15 points out of a possible 18 and loses at home in the last 16. So in seven years with four diff managers, once not qualify for Europe, twice out in the group phase and the best was the quarter final, this is football heritage and if you want to go to the PL, the last victory was 12-13 and in the four consecutive seasons United finish fourth fifth, sixth and seventh.”
“So in the last four years the best was fourth. This is football heritage. Means that when you start the process you are here, you are there or you are there, is heritage.”
“And if the fans that I will always respect, always respect, if the fans and many of them are the ones you speak with, many of them are the ones I speak with and I am very lucky but the ones who speak with you are v disappointed and the ones I speak with know what is football heritage, what is a process and when I arrive.”
“When I arrived in Real Madrid, do you know how many players quarter final of the Champions League? Xabi Alonso with Liverpool, Casillas with Real Madrid and Ronaldo with Manchester United. All the others not even a quarter final, that’s football heritage.”
