by W.H. Garcia

Created on: September 22, 2007

Jose Mourinho, the most successful manager in the history of Chelsea Football Club has left the club that will forever be associated with him for the rest of his life. When he was appointed manager of Chelsea, many saw it as a blissful marriage of sorts. The flamboyant Portuguese had just propelled FC Porto to the pinnacle of world football, a year after they had won the UEFA cup. Despite his limited playing career, he has displayed the managerial acumen and the man management skills of a season campaigner, all this at a relatively young age of 44 in terms of football management.

At about the same time that the world began to take notice of Mourinho, the "Blue Revolution" had begun. Roman Abramovich and his wealth swept into the English footballing scene and Chelsea would no longer play second fiddle to the top tier of English football, a category that has been long monopolized by the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. To gain prominence in the English and European scene, Chelsea needed a big personality and more importantly, a manager who has been there and done that. Mourinho was quickly identified as the man who would take the success-starved club back to the top of English football.

In his short reign, Mourinho had garnered 6 domestic trophies, arguably making him the most successful manager in Europe in that period. The first league title he won with Chelsea was the club's first in 50 years. The next league title came soon after and Stamford Bridge was becoming something of a fortress. Chelsea was never beaten in a home league fixture in his reign. This remarkable record stretches back to his managerial career at Porto. This has surely got to do with the resilience and winning mentality that he brings to his players. I am sure that if he had been allowed to remain at the club, Chelsea would continue to win trophies on a regular basis.

Alas, Abramovich and the board craved European success. The Russian owner attempted to take things into his own hands by imposing the transfers of Andrei Shevchenko and Michel Ballack. This interference into team affairs would lay the seeds for an unhealthy relationship between Mourinho and Abramovich. These are both big personalities and clashes between them has led to the untenable relationship that caused the departure.

There is lots of speculation as to where Mourinho would be heading. I, for one would like to see him at Tottenham Hotspur. With all due respect to Martin Jol, I think he has done a great job

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