It was back in 2004 when Mourinho first came to the attention of the world. That was of course, after he'd won the Champions League with FC Porto, defeating Manchester United along the way.
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Turning up with his swagger and arrogance, there surely would have been murmurings of "Who does this bloke think he is?" when he first arrived in England.
However, the "Special One" soon showed his specialities. Bringing in bright talent from across the globe, the Chelsea charge, thanks to the millions of pounds distributed by Roman Abramomich, was only just beginning. Chelsea, Abramovich and Mourinho had changed the way football is today. It was just the start.
Of course, the "Galactico" era at Real Madrid was and still is highly talked about with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo all pulling on that famous all white kit during the same period. However, Chelsea took it to a new level.
The likes of Arjen Robben, Claude Makelele and Didier Drogba all arrived in west-London, all with big egos, but all had big talent.
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| Claude Makelele |
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| Arjen Robben |
Drogba, of course, was the hero in the Club's Champions League success in 2012, Makelele, during his time with Chelsea provided a new role for the world to talk about, taking defensive midfield to another stage in football positioning. Chelsea have never replaced him despite years of trying. Robben always had the talent and injuries played a part in his Blues career, but when you also have Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on your CV, you must be good.
These were three of many during Mourinho's first year as Blues boss, I haven't gone into detail about the rest such as Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho, for example, two more that played a huge part in Chelsea success.
Two Premier League titles, a couple of League Cups, a Community Shield, an FA Cup, and three years later, the Portuguese was gone. It was to prove a case of the old saying "you don't know what you have until it's gone".
Chelsea didn't do too badly during his time away from Stamford Bridge, winning another league title in 2009/10 under Carlo Ancelotti, three more FA Cups, another Community Shield and consecutive successes in Europe with the Champions League, under Roberto Di Matteo, and then the Europa League, a year later, in 2013, under the guidance of the much maligned Rafa Benitez.
Elsewhere, Mourinho was still picking up trophies, winning the treble with Inter Milan, a first for any Italian club, a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during his three year spell with Real Madrid. Ultimately, his tenure in Spain was never enjoyable despite his success, with Jose failing to get on with the Spanish press.
The problem for Chelsea though was the amount of bosses Abramovich hired, and then fired since Mourinho's 2007 departure from the Bridge.
Avram Grant had a season in charge after taking over once Mourinho had left, current Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari then had a go but was sacked after only 36 games. Even current Sky Sports pundit, Ray Wilkins had his turn for a solitary game, only for Guus Hiddink to fill in for the rest of that season until May 2009.
Ancelotti spent two years in charge, before Abramovich paid a world record £12 million for another Porto manager, this time Andre Villas-Boas, who was part of Mourinho's backroom staff during his first spell at Chelsea. He only lasted 40 games, before Di Matteo and, a year later, Benitez had his spell in charge. Phew, got all that?
In a way, it signals an end to Abramovich's experiment. He's taken managers almost on a trial basis before wielding the axe. The fact that the longest spell someone has had in charge being only two years shows the high pressure job involved.
Is it a case, with Pep Guardiola heading to Bayern Munich, Abramovich had just ran out of managers? Was there no-one else to turn to?
Mourinho will bring a number of top class individuals to the Club as he bids to bring the good times back to the Bridge after a time away.
What's not to like though? He'll brighten up the press conferences and there will be another horse in the title race for the foreseeable future if he has his way.
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Elsewhere, Mourinho was still picking up trophies, winning the treble with Inter Milan, a first for any Italian club, a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during his three year spell with Real Madrid. Ultimately, his tenure in Spain was never enjoyable despite his success, with Jose failing to get on with the Spanish press.
 |
| REIGN IN SPAIN: But Jose's time with Madrid turned sour |
Avram Grant had a season in charge after taking over once Mourinho had left, current Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari then had a go but was sacked after only 36 games. Even current Sky Sports pundit, Ray Wilkins had his turn for a solitary game, only for Guus Hiddink to fill in for the rest of that season until May 2009.
Ancelotti spent two years in charge, before Abramovich paid a world record £12 million for another Porto manager, this time Andre Villas-Boas, who was part of Mourinho's backroom staff during his first spell at Chelsea. He only lasted 40 games, before Di Matteo and, a year later, Benitez had his spell in charge. Phew, got all that?
 |
| THE EXIT'S THAT WAY: Abramovich has a record of sacking managers |
Is it a case, with Pep Guardiola heading to Bayern Munich, Abramovich had just ran out of managers? Was there no-one else to turn to?
Mourinho will bring a number of top class individuals to the Club as he bids to bring the good times back to the Bridge after a time away.
What's not to like though? He'll brighten up the press conferences and there will be another horse in the title race for the foreseeable future if he has his way.
