Jose Mourinho thanks Louis van Gaal after Manchester United's Community Shield win
Sunday 7 August 2016 21:20, UK
Jose Mourinho thanked his predecessor Louis van Gaal after Manchester United defeated Leicester City to win the Community Shield.
The United boss, who replaced Van Gaal in the Old Trafford hotseat in May, claimed the first piece of silverware of his tenure at the club with a 2-1 victory over the Premier League champions at Wembley.
Van Gaal's parting FA Cup final triumph presented Mourinho with the opportunity to contest the 94th Community Shield, and the Portuguese was keen to highlight the Dutchman after the game.
"First of all I want to dedicate the victory to Louis van Gaal, because without him we wouldn't be here today celebrating," Mourinho told his post-match press conference.
"He won the FA Cup that allowed us to come back, he allowed me to win one more trophy. I have won many trophies from managers and when I won trophies and I left a club no one remembers they were there because of me.
"I remember that this trophy I have won is because someone won before me. I dedicate the trophy to him.
"I also dedicate it to my seven players who were not involved in the game. They are players that work really hard and deserve to be (in the team).
"But I have to make choices, choices that hurt me when I look behind and see people like (Memphis) Depay, (Phil) Jones and Ashley Young (not involved).
"But we are a team, we won and everybody was happy."
Sunday's victory at Wembley proved to be a good outing for Mourinho's men in what was their final match before their Premier League opener away to Bournemouth on August 14, live on Sky Sports.
The Portuguese was pleased by the nature in which United controlled the first half, but he wasn't surprised by the way Leicester's pacey attack erased United's advantage in the second period.
He added: "In relation to the game, in the first half we were very stable, I was really happy with the game. We were very stable and were always in control of the game.
"In the second half I knew that (Leicester's comeback) would happen because we are not fit enough.
"At the same time, with (Ahmed) Musa, (Demarai) Gray and (Jamie) Vardy, the intensity of the game changed. They brought intensity and it was difficult for us to continue.
"Three players gave us big stability in the game; Marcos Rojo, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera. We recovered the balance.
"Then, of course, when you score almost at the end its always a bit of luck but in that moment I thought we were very much in control."
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