Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho comes face-to-face with predecessors Sir Alex Ferguson and Louis van Gaal
Old Trafford manager attends Uefa Elite Coaches Forum as Europe's top bosses head to Switzerland... but there were a couple of notable Premier League absences
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho came face-to-face with two ghosts from Old Trafford’s past as he attended the Uefa Elite Coaches Forum on Wednesday.
The Portuguese chief faced up to both his predecessor Louis van Gaal and Sir Alex Ferguson in Nyon – but David Moyes was nowhere to be seen.
Mourinho has always maintained a good relationship with the legendary Red Devils boss Fergie, but he could have been met by a frosty reception by the Dutchman after criticising the man he replaced in the hotseat last summer.
It is a rare sighting of Van Gaal since his exit from the North West.
But the trip will have been a memorable one as he was presented with a special plaque to recognise his achievement of managing 100 European club matches.
The United trio were joined by a host of other elite coaches from across Europe at the 19th edition of the annual conference.
Real Madrid‘s Zinedine Zidane, Paris Saint-Germain’s Unai Emery and Newcastle chief Rafa Benitez were all in attendance.
Ferguson was acting as chair at the meeting designed to give the continent’s most influential managers a chance to discuss their concerns and air their views on the issues facing European competition.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin was also among the star-studded names as he met former players Peter Schmeichel and Xabi Alonso to talk over problems facing current footballers.
Among the topics discussed were competition rules, laws of the game, football promotion, education and football activities in general.
Among the faces missing from the meeting was Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger.
His absence was unexplained, but with the futures of both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez both unresolved before tomorrow’s transfer deadline, he has a ready-made excuse.
And there was no sign of Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola – the man trying to entice Sanchez away from the Emirates.
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