Reign of Spain underlines gulf

Although Louis van Gaal appears to be closing in on the Manchester United job, this week’s Champions League action offered clues to a possible alternative narrative had the hunt for David Moyes’ successor taken another route.

Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, both of whom had featured strongly in the early running, have now had their credentials as top managers freshly burnished by semi-final wins over, respectively, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, thoroughly convincing victories which have set up the first true derby finale in the entire history of the European Cup and Champions League.

By contrast, if the semi-finals had been 11th hour auditions for the Old Trafford gig, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho would have spectacularly blotted their copybooks at the worst possible time, appearing to critically undermine the previous consensus that these are the two gaffers who come closer than any others in world football to virtually guaranteeing success at a top club. Hence, the persistent noises in recent weeks from inside Manchester United indicating that, despite van Gaal now emerging as the putative chosen one, Guardiola and Mourinho were always regarded as the dream dates, the most special of the special ones, even if unobtainable.