The Special One

Photography by Tom Oldham

José Mourinho

Chelsea, 2004-2007

"The job was to bring Chelsea to that dimension. There are no big clubs without a trophy room. At that moment, Chelsea needed to win the Premier League"

In 2003/04, Chelsea – then managed by Claudio Ranieri – reached the last 16 of the FA Cup, the last eight of the League Cup, and the last four of the Champions League while finishing second to Arsenal in the Premier League. That summer, their owner Roman Abramovich replaced Ranieri with José Mourinho, who had just impressively won the Champions League with Porto and dramatically eliminated Manchester United while doing so.

In the second part of our series of exclusive CV Stories, Mourinho discusses the tale of his first, three-year spell at Stamford Bridge. He revists what he knew of the project before he joined, the chemistry he built up between the players he inherited and those he introduced, and how that blend took Chelsea to a first league title in 50 years.

Author: Tony Hodson

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