It’s official, football’s worst kept secret is out, José Mourinho has returned to Chelsea as manager. And despite the managerial merry-go-round that is dominating the top of the Premier League no story has garnered as much attention as the return of The Special One. And that’s just the way he likes it.
It’s been hailed as a victory for the Premier League, one of the most entertaining characters in the history of the league returning. Throw the return of Ian Holloway into the mix as well and Premier League press conferences may just become entertaining again. But this should also be hailed as a victory for Chelsea FC.
Chelsea finished 14 points behind champions Manchester United this season and a mammoth 25 points behind champs Manchester City the season before. Success in Europe over the last two seasons has somewhat masked the fact that Chelsea haven’t been a dominant domestic force for some time, their last league title coming in 2010. It may not be a leap to say that this spell without a league title wouldn’t have happened with José in charge. Certainly you would presume that Chelsea wouldn’t have finished 6th as they did in 2012.
Mourinho’s Champions League success with Porto and Inter Milan are legendary but the Portuguese knows that his bread and butter is the league and that is reflected in his stellar resume. A league winner in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, Mourinho hasn’t finished outside of the top 2 in any season since his debut season with Porto in 2002. It’s that sort of consistency that Chelsea need.
They have a demanding owner in Roman Abramovich who will want success quickly and Mourinho has so often before been the man to provide it. In his debut season in England he delivered Chelsea’s first league title in 50 years, he won an historic treble at Inter Milan and his Real Madrid team won the league despite the challenge of what is considered by many to be the greatest side (Barca or otherwise) of all time.
His time at Real Madrid has seen him come under criticism, he has had major fallouts with many of his star players such as Iker Casillas, and he has failed to deliver a European trophy for one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs. Yet still he lasted three years at Santiago Bernabéu, far beyond the normal life expectancy of a Real manager.
His class is unrivalled, it’s easy to see what he can bring to Chelsea and with City and United shuffling their decks in terms of management and structure it could well be that José hits the ground running again. But what can Chelsea offer Mourinho?
It seems that the first thing they could offer him was simply a route home. Sure, José is not from London, he’d not worked in England before joining Chelsea but the Premier League is his league. He’s spoken so many times about his fondness for the way football is played in this country that there was always inevitability about his return. And despite being linked over the years to Manchester’s City and United rest assured that Chelsea are his club.
It’s clear to see how much Chelsea means to him. For the first time ever he is retracing his footsteps, taking on a challenge that he has already achieved. It’s hard to imagine him ever returning to Porto or Inter, but it was never in doubt that he would return to Chelsea one day.
The squad that José inherits at Stamford Bridge now only has five surviving first team players from his last spell there, Čech, Essien, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole. But this is still very much his Chelsea. The style of Chelsea’s play, the way they line up their team, it still bears a resemblance to José’s Chelsea.
Already Mourinho has distanced the club from a huge spending spree in this summer’s transfer market, the like of which accompanied him during his first spell. Part of the reason for this is surely that he is already fairly satisfied with the playing staff and doesn’t see the need for a potentially disruptive overhaul.
As much as he will still share a great relationship with the players who have played under him before I would also presume that he is relishing the chance to work with Chelsea’s newer talent such as Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.
That’s not to say that they are already the finished article. The striking department may be what Mourinho first looks at. A José Mourinho team tends to lead with one striker who can hold the ball up well and bring the three man midfield and wingers either side of him into the game, as Didier Drogba did so successfully for so long.
Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have both provided goals this season and Romelalu Lakaku has looked impressive on loan at West Brom but it is yet to be determined if Mourinho will utilise them or look elsewhere. Already the ever ready British press has seen him linked with moves for Eden Džeko.
A holding midfielder may be required as well to supplement the wealth of attacking players that Chelsea already have.
After an up and down period under the hugely unpopular Rafa Benitez, Chelsea fans finally have a manager that they can passionately get behind and can look forward to seeing their team challenging at the very top of the league. After all, José Mourinho wouldn’t have it any other way.