Jose Mourinho
Mourinho was much admired for his work with Porto, exceeding all expectations in winning the Champions League with the Portuguese side, and looked an excellent appointment to take Chelsea to the next level. He announced himself as a ‘special’ manager on his arrival, and so that proved to be. In his first season – no doubt aided of course by the funds to bring the likes of Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Arjen Robben – he delivered instant success with the Premier League title, achieved with a record points total of 95 and a best-ever defensive record of just 15 goals conceded. Along with that, there was a win in the Carling Cup final against Liverpool.
In his next season, he brought the highly influential Michael Essien to the club, and maintained Chelsea’s dominance as they retained the league title, which was sealed with an impressive 3-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Under his guidance, the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Didier Drogba were starting to grow into some of the best players in the world.
However, Mourinho was unable to win a third title in a row, as some poor signings in the form of Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou were made (though it is generally thought that Shevchenko was signed against his will by Abramovich), allowing Manchester United to improve and win the league in 2006/07. The Blues didn’t finish empty-handed though, as they gained revenge on Sir Alex Ferguson’s side with a 1-0 win over them in the FA Cup final.
Despite being by far the club’s most successful manager, Mourinho was seemingly forced out by Abramovich early in the 2007/08 season after a poor start and rumours of friction in their relationship.
Final grade: A
The only thing missing was Champions League success which Abramovich so greatly craved, but there’s no doubt Mourinho’s influence at Chelsea lasted long after he left, instilling a new-found winning mentality which had often eluded them under Ranieri. His teams were not known for playing entertaining football, but no one else got results quite like he did.