Special is not enough to describe him. Jose Mourinho, as he used to remind us, is not one out of the bottle; but if anyone could possibly bottle the remarkable essence of success that seeps from his every pore and guided Chelsea to yet another remarkable victory at Stamford Bridge it would surely be worth a fortune not even Roman Abramovich could afford. How on earth can you explain how Mourinho, despite inheriting a squad beset by problems and a club still recovering from what amounted to almost a civil war in west London last season, can achieve the kind of performances that now leave his side in contention for a Premier League and Champions League double? Last year, remember, Chelsea weren’t good enough for the Champions League at all; and although they went on to lift the Europa League there looked to be seriously deep problems within the squad — problems that left them some way short of being title contenders and a long way adrift of a trip to Lisbon in May 2014. Last year, following the appointment of Rafa Benitez as interim manager and the equally controversial sacking of Roberto Di Matteo, there was even mutiny in the stands and — dare it be whispered — questions over owner Abramovich as he was accused of scoring a horrendous own goal in the boardroom. Even when the Special One returned, to the unbridled delight of the Shed and the Matthew Harding Stand, not everyone was convinced he would — or could be — an instant success. In fact it was only Mourinho’s remarkable CV, memories of his previous spell at Stamford Bridge and his all-pervading aura of confidence that led to predictions Chelsea would come anywhere near challenging Manchester United and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League this season. But they have done so — and continue to do so with only a handful of games to play. That in itself is a major achievement — especially when you remember a wonderful victory at Manchester City that hinted at the latent ability in his team. But this latest result really is something else. This result is quite astounding. Early in the evening it looked almost impossible, so confident were PSG on the ball and so quick on the break; but gradually, bit by bit, Mourinho stamped his mentality on a Chelsea side that simply refused to give up and turned the Parisians into nervous rabbits by the final minutes. As we have seen on so many occasions before, there was an element of happy fortune in the victory too — because although Eden Hazard’s early injury appeared to be a set-back, the arrival of the more energetic and direct Andre Schurrle actually turned the game. Of course you can say Mourinho picked the right man to replace his star player — the records will show Schurrle went on to score and to hit the crossbar in a pulsating performance — but maybe, just as two years ago, fate is on Chelsea’s side as well. It was certainly Mourinho who brought on Ba (who grabbed that late winner) and then Torres in a bid to clinch a remarkable victory. It was for sure Mourinho who patiently and carefully turned the likes of Schurrle, Willian and Oscar into players who are capable of carrying Chelsea’s dreams for many years to come — and it was definitely Mourinho who recovered Frank Lampard and restored John Terry as captain, building his team around men who had been overlooked by Benitez before him. The end result is a team that, although still missing a world class goalscorer and still in its infancy in terms of its development, is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the really big matches and to putting itself in a position to win trophies. The mix of Chelsea’s old guard and new guard, a mix that previous managers struggled to achieve and paid the price for, works perfectly under a coach who has every right to claim he is the best in the world. To be quite frank, when you look at what Mourinho has now done in Portugal, in England, in Italy, in Spain — and if you look at what he is achieving at Stamford Bridge for the second time after reaching his eighth Champions League semi-final (more than even Alex Ferguson has achieved), then special is now no longer enough. In fact it doesn’t even tell half the story.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 02:19:45 +0000
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