The 'Special One' returns to Stamford Bridge

By Chris Linnell

The inevitable has finally happened. ‘The Special One’ has reclaimed his position as head coach of Chelsea Football Club.

At the age of 50-years-old, Mourinho will soon be arriving in London to being his second stint in charge at Stamford Bridge. This time, however, he will have much to prove. Coming off the back of his ‘worst-ever season’ as manager of Real Madrid.

Mourinho has penned a four-year deal with Chelsea and, in a brief message to Blues fans, promised to work hard to make the club successful, just as he did in 2004.

The Portuguese manager’s sheer exuberance and charisma will bring a new dimension to the Premier League. A dimension that has been dearly missed since his departure almost 6 years ago.

Mourinho first arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004, weeks after guiding Porto to the Champions League trophy. He won the FA Cup and two League Cups as well as two Premier League titles but could not win the Champions League with the Blues.

His relationship with owner Roman Abramovich grew increasingly troubled and he quit despite having three years left on his contract.

He won his second Champions League trophy with Inter Milan in 2010, but left to join Real Madrid later that summer – replacing Manuel Pellegrini, who is favourite to take over at Manchester City. He finished second in La Liga in his first season – four points behind Barcelona – but won the title a year later, amassing 100 points in the process.

Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches, and critics as one of the best football coaches of all time and I for one would agree with this viewpoint.

He delivered a short message to Chelsea supporters via the club’s official website, in which he echoed the pledge he made nine years ago to give quality, work, passion and love to make the Blues successful.

“It’s exactly the same message but now I can say I’m one of you and that makes a little bit of a difference,” he said. “In my football career I had two great passions; Inter and Chelsea. And Chelsea is more than important for me.

“It was very, very hard to play against Chelsea and I did it only twice [while at Inter in the Champions League], which was not so bad. So I promise exactly the same things I promised in 2004. The only difference to have is that I’m one of you.”

Mourinho revealed that he decided to re-join Chelsea just “a couple of minutes” after meeting owner Roman Abramovich.

“I’m very happy,” he added. “I had to prepare myself to not be too emotional at my arrival at the club but obviously I’m very happy. It was an easy decision.

“I met the boss, the owner and I think in five minutes, after a couple of very short but pragmatic questions we decided straight away. I asked the boss ‘do you want me back?’ and the boss asked me ‘do you want to come back?’ and I think in a couple of minutes a decision was made.”

Mourinho has unquestionably been the most successful coach in Chelsea’s history, having won 5 trophies during his time in charge. He demanded a certain respect from his players, whilst his discipline, mind games and winning mentality guaranteed positive results.

The Portuguese coach will provide all the qualities needed for the Blues to challenge for the English first division once again. His managerial ability paired with the current club set-up is the perfect formula for even greater triumph.

His return to Stamford Bridge will make Chelsea will the team to beat in my opinion. It’ll also make the 2013/14 Premier League campaign the most exciting we have witnessed for years.

Mourinho’s return was bound to happen one day, it’s just a blessing for English football that it has happened so soon. He is clearly delighted with the prospect of returning to Chelsea. The attraction of returning to the club and its fans who have loved him for all these years.

Following the five years, eight months and 14 days after his initial departure, we could be about to witness a new era in English football. A new era in which we see a Chelsea led hegemony. Will ‘the Special one’ be a success during his second spell in London? I certainly think so.