One
thing that is inevitable after appointing Jose Mourinho as a manager is the
guarantee of victories, success and trophies. And that is visible in Chelsea's
performances in this season, so far.
This
is the first season of Jose after his return to Stamford Bridge. Considering
Chelsea's pathetic displays in the league in last two seasons, they were not
expected to pose a serious challenge in the title race. However, 20-odd games
in the league and they are in with a realistic chance of winning the league.
They
are still in the transition phase. They still need to address a couple of
issues. But Jose Mourinho has managed to extract the results from the available
(talented but inexperienced) resources. They are still undefeated against the
big boys this season. Stamford Bridge has once again become a fortress under
the special one. Rivals have again started to fear facing Chelsea.
Mourinho
is a clever manager and a great tactician with amazing man-management skills.
He knows what he wants from his players. He is not afraid to drop the big names
if they do not fit in his system.
He
was criticized at Real Madrid for benching Casillas and preferring Diego Lopez.
It was one of the reasons he left Real to join Chelsea this summer. But Jose
was vindicated when his successor at Real Madrid - Carlo Ancelotti, also
preferred Lopez in front of goal.
Mourinho
did the same at Chelsea. Juan Mata, the player of the season for last two
seasons, was marginalized. But not the performance of Chelsea…..Chelsea and
Jose Mourinho have a different relationship. In the hindsight, Jose made right
decision in coming back to Chelsea. Because this is the club where people
believe in him and where he can implement his strategies without the backlash.
The
fans, players and the club love him. They trust in him. He still has many years
left in his career, but he is already the (biggest!) legend at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea without Mourinho was always missing something. People spoke of him even
after he left. His achievements with other clubs were lauded. Everyone wanted
him to come back. This was his home. This is where he belonged. He had given
them the success and they had given him the identity. This is a relationship of
mutual respect and, above all, the love. It is far beyond the trifle matters
like money. He is an undisputed king here. He is revered and adored in this
part of London. This is where he became big and he knows that. And this was the
time Chelsea needed him badly. They were inconsistent, lost too many games and
flattered to deceive. And Jose answered the call!
The
return of the Special One has taken care of that. It has done wonders to the
confidence of both - the club as well as the manager. Chelsea are once more a
force to reckon with. They are fierce. They are fearless. They are confident.
They believe that they can win the games from any situations. They have started
to regain that old aura of invincibility.
Jose
has brought the discipline, they were lacking, to their game. It is becoming
difficult to break their defense. They are coming out victorious even on a bad
day. The work-rate of players has improved significantly. The team chemistry is
at all-time high.
With
Jose at the helm and looking at the abundance of talent they are having in
first team, reserves and academy, they will dominate the European Football for
many seasons to come.
We
can safely say that United's loss is Chelsea's gain!
