Jose Mourinho has been officially confirmed as Chelsea’s manager, the “Special One” returns to the Blues for a second stint in charge on a four-year contract.
The Portuguese won two consecutive Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups during his first spell, which ended in September 2007. Mourinho was unable to win the Champions League though.
In an exclusive interview with Chelsea TV, Mourinho said: “I promise exactly the same things I promised in 2004, with this difference to help – which is I’m one of you. In football, in my career I’ve had two great passions, Inter and Chelsea, and Chelsea is more than important for me.”
Mourinho, who will be officially presented in a press conference at Stamford Bridge next Monday, (10 June), brings three coaching staff with him, Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay welcomed the return of Mourinho: “He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.”
However during his first stint with the club, his relationship with owner Roman Abramovich grew increasingly heated and he quit despite having three years left on his contract.
But Mourinho stated that his conversation with Abramovich was just a few minutes, “I asked the boss ‘do you want me back?’ and the boss asked ‘do you want to come back?’ – after a couple of minutes the decision was made. I’m very happy. I had to prepare myself to not be too emotional on my arrival at the club, but obviously I’m very happy.”
Mourinho also gave a little insight about his plans for Chelsea, “I want to improve the team. By that, I mean work with the team. My work has to improve the players and the team, If I don’t do that I won’t be happy with myself. If after that we can further improve the team by buying couple of players, then fantastic – but I have to improve the team with my work.”
Mourinho signed off telling Chelsea TV, “We are now back together which is a great moment for both. We are ready to marry again and be happy and successful again.”