Michael Carrick, Jose Mourinho's new No 2 at Manchester United, excited over the role

Bengaluru, May 19: Jose Mourinho, who has never had a former player serve as his assistant, broke the tradition by inviting Michael Carrick to be his second in command.

On his part, Carrick, who retired recently from Manchester United, said he's excited over his new role at the club. “I’m more excited about the future rather than being sad about what’s over,” Carrick said in his post-retirement press conference.

Football results" title="Carrick's replacements | Football results" />Carrick's replacements | Football results

The player signed for United for £18 million from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 and called it a day as a professional footballer last Saturday after making 464 appearances for Manchester United, winning 5 Premier League crowns and one Champions League title in his 12 years at Old Trafford. Carrick will be switching over to management and will be seen as a coach when United take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

#UCLfinal winner Michael Carrick at #MUFC:

Debut: 23 August 2006
Games: 464
Goals: 24@ManUtd legend ✔ pic.twitter.com/0bxXKZGnG0

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 16, 2018

Another major development behind the scenes at United has been the exit of Jose Mourinho’s long-time assistant Rui Faria. An emotional Mourinho had said, “Seventeen years…in Leiria, Porto, Milan, Madrid, London and then Manchester. Training, playing, travelling, studying, laughing and also a few tears of happiness. Seventeen years and the kid is now a man. The intelligent student is now a football expert, ready for a successful career as a manager.”

The duo has conquered everything in football, not exactly in the style of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor but statistically, very much so. Such manager-assistant partnerships have become a rare thing in modern football and it is sad to see the most successful one of its era come to an end.

Mourinho also said that there will be a major change in the Old Trafford coaching setup with there being no position as an assistant manager temporarily, but will include the current specialist coaches and analysts. Mourinho is also likely to promote youth coaches into the senior setup. It is supposed that when Carrick completes his coaching badges and licensing, he will be The Special One’s second-in-command.

Hi! Here is my latest post. One Hour Behind: ‘I played with Michael Carrick!’ https://t.co/TfFrd03grh

— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) May 14, 2018

Carrick will take the plunge into management like many ex-United players, including Wales national coach Ryan Giggs and England’s women national team Coach Phil Neville. The midfielder has been reported to be having video analysis sessions with fellow players during the season, so this is likely to be a natural progression.

The effect Carrick’s inclusion as a coach will be having on a midfield that blows hot and cold will be interesting to see.

Carrick, then signed as a replacement for Roy Keane, is expected to have a calming effect amongst all on Paul Pogba, who has at times found his own shoes too big to fill. Carrick’s absence will leave a big hole in United’s midfield but the team has been preparing for that over the season as the player had very limited game-time owing to an irregular heart rhythm.

Premier League 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Champions league 🏆
League Cup 🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup 🏆
Europa League 🏆
FIFA Club World Cup 🏆

Michael Carrick received a guard of honour on his 464th and final Man Utd appearance. pic.twitter.com/EQZaBJMWgG

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 13, 2018

Mourinho has never had a former player as his assistant, Carrick will be his first. Thus, how it pans out will be intriguing to see. For sake of comparisons, Carlo Ancelloti, Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger have had multiple elite players assisting them. The fans will want Carrick to imbibe Sir Alex Ferguson’s attacking philosophy into Mourinho’s win-at-all-costs one. Everyone’s interest will be in seeing how these backroom changes will influence United’s next season title challenge. The FA cup final will be a start.