If there’s anything that we will ever learn from life and modern football in general, it is that change is a constant, and that Jose Mourinho could be on the move again. With the self proclaimed ‘Special One’ making all the noises, the stage is set for another ‘will he, won’t he’ saga to unfold. A master at handling the media, he has wound up the rumour mill and has got everybody guessing if he will still remain at Real Madrid next season.
Over the past few years, Mourinho has earned himself accolades and titles a plenty. Widely regarded as a cut throat tactician for his methods and the results that he obtains, there are very few managers who can match up to him statistically too. Having won over 65% of his games in charge, he has one of the very few to have claimed domestic titles in four different countries (Portugal, England, Italy and Spain) and won the UEFA Champions League twice in addition to other trophies. His record is so impressive that he has picked up at least one trophy in every year since 2002.
Mourinho guarantees immediate success. Give him a free reign and he will assemble and fashion a team that is capable of bringing home silverware. But like every success story, Mourinho does have his fair share of critics and he is not afraid to take the punches thrown at him on the chin. There are many who say that his style of football kills the beautiful game, lacks expression and is not played in true spirit. His players who claim to willingly follow his every directive, are at times accused of being mercenaries and have shown more loyalty to club and manager rather than to their respective countries. But Mourinho knows that if ‘Winning takes care of everything’ for Tiger Woods, it certainly does the trick too for most club owners, fans and players themselves. He has rarely looked at the game as an art form but has instead seen it as a science where he has time and again cracked the formula to success. And this is the reason why there will always be a host of clubs willing to sign the Portuguese.
If one were to study Mourinho’s career, it is plain to see that he hasn’t stayed at any club for more than three seasons. Having engineered moves prematurely in the past, the signs right now are pointing to another such move. With a return to one of his former clubs being touted as a possible destination, Chelsea and Inter have become the bookies favourite to land the Portuguese services. Though Mourinho has spoken about his love affair with the Italian giants, the Nerazzurri has worked fast to blow off any rumours and have instead given a vote of confidence to Andrea Stramaccioni to build on his successes of this term. That leaves Mourinho with the prospect of returning to London and won’t he relish the chance to complete some unfinished business at Chelsea. Having built the bridges that were burnt in 2007, Mourinho has most possibly laid the foundations for a very likely return to Stamford Bridge. Bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, Chelsea are on the lookout for somebody to give the Blue Brigade some steel and guide them back to glory and who better than the familiar face of Mourinho who once made the Blues a formidable force to reckon with. They are currently a team in transition. With an interim coach currently in charge, the London side has faced more downs than ups this season. There have been moments of brilliance but these have been over shadowed by stubbornness and mediocrity. Chelsea know that if they are to land the 'Special One' for a second term, they have a lot to do and it starts with earning themselves a top four finish and a passage into next season’s UEFA Champions League. Failure to do so could see Mourinho floating his CV elsewhere.
Should Mourinho make the return to Chelsea, it would not only help give the club direction but would also give the Premier League a much needed injection of competition. Though it is a marketing monster that is growing bigger everyday, the league is way off from their claim of being the best in the world right now. The Premier League lost some of its sheen with the exodus of Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and others to the Spanish Primera Liga and other leagues in the past few seasons. Lack of genuine stars and a talent pool that isn’t coming of age fast enough, has left the Premier League incapable of fighting with the best in Europe and this is fairly reflected in the lack of participation of English Clubs in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
The Premier League needs Mourinho as much as he needs the return to Chelsea. His involvement would certainly bring back some grit and would stem the slow and steady decline that has been witnessed in the Premier League over the last few seasons. As many may know, Mourinho has the ability to push opposing teams, players and their managers to their wits end and sometimes even bring out the best in his opposition. It is probably this trait that makes him want to be better than any other, always looking for a way to make the impossible very much possible . He is without a doubt a modern day footballing genius, and will most certainly come for a price. Abramovich knows that bringing Mourinho back would certainly be money well spent and could just be the start of another much needed relationship between the 'Special One' and the English game.
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