Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has expressed his delight at the return of Alex Ferguson, even if the Spaniard remained frustrated that the team couldn’t secure a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers for him.
“Allow me to start today’s blog by sharing how the whole world of football felt about Sir Alex Ferguson returning to Old Trafford on Saturday, Mata penned on his personal blog.
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Ferguson, arguably the greatest club manager of all time, suffered a brain haemorrhage and underwent emergency surgery in May.
September 22, when United hosted Wolves, was the first time since his surgery that the iconic Scot saw his beloved Red Devils play.
“It is great evidence of how he has recovered and it is great news for Manchester United that we will be able to count upon his support and wisdom for a long time to come. It is, without doubt, amazing news. Welcome back, Sir Alex.”
On the pitch, however, things didn’t go to plan as despite taking the lead via Fred in the first-half, United couldn’t hold on for a routine home win and instead, settled for a 1-1 draw against the Premier League newcomers.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to dedicate a win to him at the weekend. Wolverhampton put in a very complete performance and it showed that they are a team that works very hard with a clear footballing philosophy and that they are very competitive.”
Under Jose Mourinho, United have struggled to eke out results on a weekly basis, for just after registering back-to-back wins in the Premier League and opening their UEFA Champions League campaign with an away win, they were held at home by Wolves.
“It would have been the icing on the cake after a week which saw us kick off the Champions League with a great win in Switzerland. Getting the three points against Young Boys opens up plenty of options for us to do well in the group and it gives us more confidence for the games to come, which will be exciting.”
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Up next is a Carabao Cup encounter with lower-league Derby County, a team managed by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.
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The former midfielder was Jose Mourinho’s player during the duo’s time in West London and most of the media hype has been regarding their relationship, but Mata revealed that he’s got fond memories of ‘Super Frank’ too:”We have to keep going, the games keep coming and on Tuesday we have another. This time, it is a League Cup game against Derby, a team coached by Frank Lampard. As you all know, I was lucky enough to play with him and we shared some great memories together. Apart from him obviously being a football legend, he is a great person and was a brilliant teammate.”
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“I wish him all the best… from Wednesday onwards! It will be lovely to see him again,” the Spaniard cheekily added as he signed off.
