Jose Mourinho admits he was the Nervous One ahead of first match in charge of Manchester United
Portuguese led his new side to 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at Dean Court as new boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored
JOSE MOURINHO confessed he became the ‘Nervous One’ before winning his first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United.
Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic notched his obligatory debut goal by thumping in a 25-yard cracker in the 3-1 defeat of Bournemouth.
And Mourinho, a double Champions League and three-time Premier League-winning boss, admitted to having butterflies on the eve of his Red Devils entrance in front of the TV cameras.
The Special One even tried to watch some boxing on the TV in his south-coast hotel ahead of the game to ease the stress — but was knocked back by too many fans. The Portuguese said: “To be honest, yes, I was a little bit nervous before the game.
“For somebody with so many years in football to have that feeling is normal.
“I never forget coming to Old Trafford with Real Madrid and asking Sir Alex if he was still nervous and he said, ‘Yes’.
“I understand that it never changes.
“Experience helps with many things and it’s good to have a little feeling.
“In the hotel there was a boxing match on the second floor but I didn’t have the chance to watch it because there were too many people and they were too happy.”
Free transfer Ibrahimovic at least helped his gaffer settle down when he made it 3-0 just after the hour following goals either side of the break by Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney.