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Jose Mourinho provided success to Roman’s Chelsea like no manager did before or after he left the Bridge.
The Incoming Tide
Until then, the league was witnessing a continued domination of Manchester United and Arsenal. But the big two, the fans and especially the English media were in for a huge surprise. Roman made his intentions perfectly clear by spending an astounding figure of £140m pounds on players to help the retained Italian manager Claudio Ranieri aim for a shot at the title.
The previous highest expenditure in a single window was less than even half of that amount, by Manchester United in 2000-01 season. Everyone was taken aback by the power of money at Chelsea’s disposal. Chelsea’s presence now would partially inflate the transfer market, much to the ire of other participants.
The targets were also set. Only the best would suffice. The Stamford Bridge faithful could now realistically dream for the trophy that deserted the club half a century ago – the top division League Title.
But they would have to wait. It was post the first season and due to the decisions thereafter, that the club started gaining negative publicity. After getting to spend more than £150m in a single season, Ranieri fell short of expectations set by the new boss. He lost the league title by 11 points to the invincible Arsenal.
The consequence – the first manager to be fired in the Roman Era. But the blueprint was set. The success should match the expenditures and ambitions of the board. And more importantly, success had to be instantaneous.
Match made in heaven
If the club has to be defined by a single name, it can easily be Jose Mourinho. That’s because the impression made by him on Chelsea under Roman would last for years to come.
He was the manager who had defied all odds and guided FC Porto to Champions League glory a year before. The board was quick to target him for the managerial vacancy at Stamford Bridge, even if the man himself was initially reluctant.
Reportedly he said, “Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project with lots of money invested in it. I think it is a project which, if the club fail to win everything, then Abramovich could retire and take the money out of the club. It’s an uncertain project. It is interesting for a coach to have the money to hire quality players but you never know if a project like this will bring success.”
Whether it was because of Liverpool appointing Benitez and not Jose or the fact that no manager could ever refuse the idea of creating a team with millions to spend, Chelsea eventually ended up with Jose Mourinho as their manager.
Both Jose and Chelsea had many things in common. Both were highly ambitious, success-oriented and desperately motivated to make a mark in football. Roman allocated the same amount of resources to Jose as to his predecessor.
For a second year running, the club spent more than £100m. Figures previously heard only in corporate mergers and acquisitions were now being splashed out for football players. The overhaul at Chelsea was overwhelming even to some of the fans.
Quickly, Jose Mourinho would imbibe himself deep into the hearts of the Stamford Bridge faithful. Based around the English stars John Terry and Frank Lampard, Jose Mourinho constructed a team, a group of world class players, who all matched the dynamic nature of the revolution at Chelsea and the ambitions of the owner.
He managed to create a sense of togetherness at Stamford Bridge with his man management and self-confidence. An astute manager with his young team, his team won the League Cup, before going on to win for the club a league title after 50 years. The owner was just as happy as the fans. But now, the world had turned against the club.
Plutocratic Club
This was not the first time that a club had broken records to buy players, and certainly not the last time. Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Lazio had all broken records previously. But not Chelsea.
In England, the template for football was of local players playing for the club, which in turn would buy the unconditional loyalty of the local fans. Club support was a matter of heredity. A club would generally enjoy a golden era when a group of talented players (mostly English) won titles or fans over.
On this success in particular would the club build its history, as success would bring in more money and fans. That happened with Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle among others.
But here was a club which had just tasted success for a few years, after decades, and all of a sudden had the luxury of a wealthy owner who was confronting the mighty old clubs. People found it difficult to justify the success of Chelsea, as the competition was all of a sudden unfair to them,; no owner could afford what Roman could.
If the transfer fees were tied, far higher salaries were offered. Many believed Chelsea was spared the tough ordeal or quest for success, which defined the history of other big clubs, and that their money catapulted them to a golden era.
Everyone felt Chelsea did not ‘deserve’ it. Rivals of Chelsea found its success difficult to digest, and thus started the claims of ‘Bought Success’ and ‘Plastic Club’. Add to that a manager who was brazen in all his interviews and defiant to reiterate that he is the best.
The brand of football progressively being nurtured at Chelsea did not help ease matters either. Initially, the blue-print was more success-oriented and less entertainment-oriented. The increasing tactic of not going for more goals but ensuring a victory did not please the neutrals.
But this did not matter to the club’s fans at that point of time. A breed of aboriginal blue fans, who were suddenly overlooked by the media, knew the club’s struggles and felt the pain of waiting for so many years. They were there when the club stayed in second division for years. They were there when northern clubs dominated for years.
After lifting the league title for the first time in 50 years, they had their dreams come true all thanks to this one foreigner. A billionaire who went all-in to realize their dreams. He was now one of them.
