FC ROSTOV coach Kurban Berdyev has revealed the stylish souvenir presented to him by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho before their Europa Cup clash.
Mourinho sparked interest when he was photographed handing a black box into the Rostov dressing room ahead of the match, which United narrowly won to reach the quarter-finals.
And FC Rostov have now posted a picture of the gift online – a stylish silver trophy, similar to the Europa Cup, bearing the Manchester United crest.
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The image was posted with the comment: “Inside the black box from Jose Mourinho was this super-cool keepsake!”
Netizen ‘Serhio’ said: “That looks like one generous gift”, while ‘Josi-Tarr’ added: “Oh wow, I bet the FC Rostov coach would lie that he won it.”
Mourinho and Berdyev first met when Mourinho’s Inter Milan side took on Berdyev’s Rubin Kazan in the group stages of the 2009/10 Champions League.
Inter went on to win the competition that year to give Mourinho his second Champions League title, and the Portuguese coach clearly had not forgotten his old rival.
Relations between Rostov and Manchester United and their respective sets of supporters had been friendly since the first leg of their tie in Russia.
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Locals presented travelling United fans with red blankets with “Gentlefan Russian Warm Welcome” written in white lettering.
The English fans later said they had been “treated like rock stars” and Mourinho echoed those views in his post-match press conference, where he was presented with his own blanket.
He said: “I think everything was magnificent. People were nice to us since we landed.
Top support from our away fans again… and a big thank you to @RostovFC & their supporters for such a warm welcome.
(Pics: @2dryhands) pic.twitter.com/oxCthB6ghI
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 9, 2017
“My view is that everything went wonderfully well in Russia – apart from the pitch, but the club was so nice to us, the people around the hotel and the airport were so nice to us.”
In the return leg in Manchester, the home fans returned the favour by presenting Rostov fans with travel guides to help find their way around the city.
Rostov fans unfurled a banner in the away end at Old Trafford reading: “Keep Calm and Come to the World Cup.”
United went on to win the match 1-0, courtesy of a Juan Mata goal, meaning the tie ended 2-1 on aggregate.
Manchester United are to play Belgian club Anderlecht in the quarter-final of the tournament next month.
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