Jose Mourinho To Manchester United Will Make Manchester The Center Of Soccer World

There’s been a clear downward trend in Premier League soccer for the past few years. The teams of England once dominated the Champions League, with at least one side suiting up for five consecutive finals in a row — and seven out of eight between 2005 and 2012. But nowadays, such results seem almost fictional. It has now been three years since a team from Manchester, London or Liverpool made it that far. At this point, the goal is making it past the Round of 16. And even then, the teams often trip up.

It’s no surprise, then, that the biggest players have remained away, calculating their chances of success as far more likely on the continent than on the rainy isle with the supposed best league on the planet.

But that may all be changing. Rain jackets may soon be back in style with Pep Guardiola heading to Manchester City. And he may not be the only one packing galoshes, at least if Jose Mourinho gets his way.

Rumors out of Spain are suggesting Mourinho has an informal deal with Manchester United to take over at Old Trafford this summer. The idea has the feel of reality, a win-win-win all around. Louis van Gaal would be allowed to retire without controversy, perhaps even saving his reputation by again placing the Red Devils in the top four. The United board could maintain the illusion that they stand by their managers — David Moyes of course excepted — while still bringing in someone more likely to win something. And Mourinho would get to manage the team he has always dreamed of.

That’s all well and good for Mourinho and United — although many Manchester fans might dispute that latter point — but it’s also worth noting it would be great for fans of the Premier League in general. Because with Mourinho and Guardiola in town, Manchester would immediately become the greatest soccer show on Earth.

It was, after all, their respective reigns at Real Madrid and Barcelona that ushered in La Liga’s recent dominance (although an incredible generation of Spanish talent had some say in that). The rivalry of their style and personalities allowed their meetings to rise above the already insane levels of competition and add new levels to old drama.

Now, imagine that all taking place in one city. And add to that the recent storylines of the two clubs. One, a fading giant trying to fight off a sudden decline. The other, the little club that is finally good and ready to take all the glory for itself. That’s a storyline any fan would tune into, and any player would want to be involved in.

And that’s not even considering the trophies. Neither Mourinho nor Guardiola has ever managed a team that didn’t win a title. And often among those titles are European ones. With their connections to major players and history of success, both managers will bring in the best quality available, and both will offer more than enough to love and hate to get every fan interested.

There will undoubtedly be downsides, the largest being a continued slide in style for the red half of Manchester. But the theater of the piece — especially with plucky Jurgen Klopp next door ready to rain on every parade — is too much to resist.

Or so we might hope. After all, no paper has been signed, no press release released. Mourinho may yet flutter off to another league or back to a regretful Chelsea. But for the sake of the show, for the sake of the league, we can all hope that the forecast for the next few years will call for Manchester rain.