José Mourinho sat down with The Telegraph and didn’t hold back. He likened today’s football to his time leaving FC Porto for Chelsea, pointing to a specific match. His words: a game against Blackburn Rovers where Arjen Robben broke his leg. “If that happened now, with all these new ‘football babies’ we have – I mean players, referees, and VAR – that game would’ve ended 11 against 7. The 7 would’ve lost, but the 11 would’ve gone home crying, ‘I’ve got a bruise, my ankle’s swollen, I’m getting two points taken away’.”
The conditions back then were tough – a muddy night game. “We showed everyone we were men. No babies. The referee forgot the cards, and we still managed.” Petr Cech had an incredible game, and Mourinho asked his players to remove their shirts. “First, for the fans, because it means a lot to them. Second, to show who we were – our strength, our bodies.” Not everyone had a six-pack, but that wasn’t the point.
Mourinho remembered his arrival at Chelsea in 2004/2005. Big clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United, and City may not care about that Chelsea team, “but what matters is what we know, what we did, and what we shared.” His reason for joining Chelsea? Meetings with Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon. The club’s goal was clear: win the Premier League as fast as possible – ideally in the first season. Abramovich wanted a change in mentality, Mourinho said.
His first visit to Stamford Bridge was before the UEFA Champions League final with FC Porto. “The first guy I met told me, ‘We don’t want you here, we love Ranieri’.” Mourinho’s message to the players? “Next season, we’re going to be champions.” He knew the Chelsea players well, having studied them. “I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. I had other options, but I analyzed and saw the potential.” Players like Lampard, Joe Cole, Terry, William Gallas, and Eidur Gudjohnsen were already there, but they needed a different culture – one that was competitive from day one. Mourinho called them his “animals” – John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Claude Makélélé. They were on the right track.
