Jose Mourinho looks set
to be welcomed back to Chelsea with
open arms, but his reputation has been
sullied during his three-year stint at Real
Madrid and he will return to Stamford
Bridge with several thorny issues to
address.
Having been released from his contract
by Madrid, the charismatic but
controversial Portuguese is now widely
expected to return to Chelsea, with some
British bookmakers offering odds of
20/1 on that he does so.
Chelsea's fans have already made their
feelings known about the prospect of
his return, having lustily chanted his
name on several occasions during the
final weeks of the season.
His previous stint at the club, between
2004 and 2007, saw Chelsea emerge as
the dominant force in English football
and even their recent continental
successes carried echoes of his impact.
Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho
Seven different managers will have
been and gone by the end of the
campaign, but the Europa League
winners remain very much a Mourinho
team — dogged, compact, and still
bossed by Mourinho loyalists such as
Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and captain
John Terry.
Mourinho left after his relationship with
owner Roman Abramovich broke down
and, in his subsequent spell at Inter
Milan, he confirmed his status as one of
the great managers of modern times by
leading the club to league, cup and
Champions League glory in 2010.
It is nonetheless a chastened Mourinho
who will return to London.
He found in Italy that the local media did
not lap up his pot-stirring quite as
enthusiastically as their English
counterparts had, and in Spain things
were even worse.
After Madrid went out of the Champions
League following a one-sided semi-final
loss to Borussia Dortmund, he told
reporters: "In Spain, some people hate
me; many of you in this room."
It has long been part of Mourinho's
strategy to portray himself as a victim,
but any sympathy for him is mitigated
by the list of misdemeanours he has
perpetrated in the Spanish capital.
The image of Mourinho poking then
Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the
eye during the Spanish Super Cup in
August 2011 left an indelible stain on his
reputation, and his long dispute with
club icon Iker Casillas this season saw
him alienate half the Madrid changing
room.
His antics prompted Manchester United
director Bobby Charlton to observe that
a "United manager wouldn't do that",
and Mourinho's off-pitch conduct was
one of the factors that pushed the Old
Trafford club to look elsewhere for the
successor to Alex Ferguson.
Mourinho's desire to succeed Ferguson
has long been apparent and the 50-
year-old was lampooned in the British
media for adopting what was seen as an
uncharacteristically obsequious tone
after his side's victory over United in the
Champions League last 16.
As well as the worry that he may still
harbour ambitions to coach United,
Chelsea's fans must also hope he is able
to reconstruct a successful working
partnership with Abramovich.
The Portuguese would also have to
submit to the authority of sporting
director Michael Emenalo, a close
Abramovich ally who oversees first-
team affairs.
Despite the potential for fireworks,
Chelsea fans believe Mourinho feels
compelled to come back.
"The way he left was such a shock — it
almost felt like a bereavement," Chelsea
Supporters' Group chair Trizia Fiorellino
told Britain's Press Association.
"Both supporters and Jose himself think
that there is unfinished business, which
is why, I think, he is so keen to return."
Several of Mourinho's successors
struggled to dismantle the ageing team
that he had created, but interim coach
Rafael Benitez has moved the squad
forward during his turbulent six-month
spell in charge.
The influential Terry is no longer
guaranteed a first-team place, while
Fernando Torres looks a far more potent
force than the spectre-like figure who
wore the number nine shirt like a
millstone in his first season and a half at
the club.
In Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar,
Chelsea also possess three of the most
gifted creative midfielders in the
country, although Mourinho, who has
always favoured powerful, counter-
attacking football, might be reluctant to
fit all three into the same team.
Whatever happens, with Mourinho at the
reins, it would be anything but dull.
Cyril 22 May, 2013
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