Has Jose Mourinho Timed His Chelsea Return To Perfection?

By Vignesh Iyer
12 years Ago

20th September 2007 ai??i?? was the day the self-anointed ai???Special Oneai??i?? cleared his office and left Chelsea by ai???mutual consentai??i?? if the club statement was to be believed. Two days before this news shocked the footballing world, Chelsea played out a dour 1 ai??i?? 1 draw against Norwegian minnows Rosenborg. The result wasnai??i??t as alarming as the attendance that night, which saw a crowd of just 24,973 supporters turn up at Stamford Bridge.

It had been building up like a Tarantino movie, crashing and burning its way to the inevitable final meltdown. This being the real world, things reached boiling point gradually, but the fire was lit as far as in July 2005 when Abramovich poached Frank Arnesen from Tottenham Hotspur and appointed him head of youth development. Then came one of the more widely known reasons for the rift that was brewing behind the scenes at the club ai??i?? Andriy Shevchenkoai??i??s arrival was vehemently opposed by Jose Mourinho who was keen to pair Didier Drogba with Samuel Etoai??i??o instead, but the owner vetoed the then record A?30m signing.

Avram Grant made his way to Chelsea in 2006 as he was appointed Director of Football by the owner which served to heighten tensions and finally, Roman Abramovich decided to cut the seemingly unlimited supply of money which meant that the close season of 2007 was a fairly uneventful summer at Chelsea as far as signings were concerned. Steve Sidwell, Claudio Pizzaro and Tal Ben Haim signed as free agents while the club paid A?15m for Florent Malouda and A?3m for Juliano Belletti(Mourinho was desperate to sign Daniel Alves from Sevilla). These signings too were funded by the departures of Arjen Robben(21m) to Real Madrid and Glen Johnson to Portsmouth(4m).

It seemed as if the manager was constantly being undermined by the owner and Mourinho being Mourinho, ensured that he made it public. It didnai??i??t help that Chelsea had a stuttering start to the season. They lost at Aston Villa, were fortunate to draw at Liverpool and failed to beat Blackburn Rovers. Mourinho was also partially handicapped by injuries that struck the squad early and the tremendous pressure exerted upon him to deliver a more attractive brand of football. When Jose Mourinho eventually left Chelsea, many of the club loyalists thought that he made it past the summer only because club captain John Terry was dithering over a new contract. Hindsight made it look as though Abramovich reached for the trigger the moment John Terry signed his extension.

Six years since his acrimonious departure, Mourinho and Chelsea find themselves in a similar situation albeit with different sets of people. Chelsea will not extend their association with Rafael Benitez, while Mourinho wonai??i??t extend his with Real Madrid either. In six years since the union collapsed, both parties have been largely successful whilst also routinely managing to shoot themselves in the foot. Mourinho, after a comparatively smoother stint in Inter Milan took charge of the Galacticos at Real Madrid in his pursuit to win a league title in three different countries and successfully won the title having combated Pep Guardiolaai??i??s Barcelona last season.

But this season, Real Madrid have endured a torrid time because of politics and infighting within the squad. And somewhat typically, Jose Mourinho has certainly not helped quell matters. For the very first time in his managerial career, ai???The Special Oneai??i?? has failed to have his players rally behind him. While he did fall out with the hierarchy at Chelsea, there were no tensions as far as his relationship with the players was concerned. It is even reported that Didier Drogba cried in the dressing room after he found out about Mourinhoai??i??s sacking. His relationship with the players at Inter Milan too was extremely strong. At Madrid however, Mourinho has failed to control egos(including that of his own) and has publicly fallen out with his players on several occasions.

Meanwhile Chelsea have enforced several transitions across all levels. From the board, to the manager to the players, changes have constantly affected the landscape but success continues to be a part of the fabric at the club. From Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and finally, Rafael Benitez ai??i?? the board have nearly extinguished their best options in pursuit of the perfect manager. Looking back at how Chelsea have operated post the Jose era, one would think that it is a bit unfair that only Benitez had the ai???interimai??i?? tag bestowed unto him. All of those managers were in a sense, interim.

It is important to note however that the craving for Jose Mourinho at Chelsea has only increased because of the air of impermanence floating around Stamford Bridge ever since his departure. An attendance of just over 20,000 fans on a European night proves that there was a faction of the Chelsea support that was growing weary of Jose Mourinho. While a vast majority of the fans were disappointed by his sacking, there were also those who were hoping that all of the manufactured tension of the Jose era would give way to a stable and a more attractive looking football club. Nearly six long years have gone by with Mourinhoai??i??s shadow over Stamford Bridge only growing longer by the day and now, even the hierarchy it seems have decided to give in.

From Mourinhoai??i??s perspective, heai??i??s achieved what he set out to do when he left Chelsea ai??i?? Two League titles with Inter Milan, A Champions League trophy and A La Liga title with Real Madrid rank among the major trophies heai??i??s won. He described this season as his worst ever as manager, but from trying to use Chelsea to gain a political upper hand every now and then, his PR machinery has pretty much worked overtime to corner Roman Abramovich into making Mourinho an offer he cannot refuse – i.e to guide a younger, very different looking Chelsea side(from the one that he built) to stability and success.

For a return to be possible, both Chelsea and Jose Mourinho needed the perfect space to make it possible. Looking back at the circumstances then, Roman Abramovich was still only improving his understanding of the beautiful game, while Jose, seduced by the power managers like Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson enjoyed at their clubs desperately wanted to emulate a similar model at Chelsea. Mourinho has worked with Massimo Moratti and Marco Branca at Inter before going on to work at a politically charged atmosphere at Real Madrid probably understands now, that harboring dreams of having total control at any top footballing club in Europe is utopia.

The Blues support will hope that both men will work in tandem to propel their beloved club to further glories without clashing at every point. The very fact that serious negotiations are happening suggests that there is a strong will and increased maturity on both sides. Circumstances have contributed to the reunion as well. Six Alex Ferguson has announced his retirement after 26 years at the very top, Manchester City are facing their first major upheaval after being kissed by success, Liverpool are in a state of transition and Arsenal still donai??i??t look likely to mount a title challenge.

Only time will tell us if the proposed reunion will yield desired results, but for good or bad, the time to reunite couldnai??i??t be any better.

Categories: Chelsea FC, COVER STORY, English Premier League, Features, Other
Tags: Chelsea FC Jose Mourinho

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