The return of J
The polarising Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with Manches tomorrow, just his second visit to the away dugout at the ground, report
IF Jose Mourinho has any apprehension before his return to Chelsea tomorrow, the Manchester United manager can console himself with the thought that it is inconceivable he will suffer a defeat as chastening as that which followed his previous visit to Stamford Bridge.
The last time Mourinho was at the club was on June 7 this year, when he briefly stopped off at Chelsea en route to Eva Carneiro’s employment tribunal in south London. A few hours later Chelsea offered an ‘‘unreserved apology’’ for their former manager’s behaviour towards Carneiro after agreeing to pay their former doctor a settlement of £3 million, an outcome that severely damaged his reputation.
Mourinho, who managed Chelsea in two separate spells for a combined period of almost seven years, will hope to emerge unscathed when he takes his seat in the away dugout at Stamford Bridge for the second time – the first was for a Champions League tie between Inter Milan and Chelsea in March, 2010 – but, as at the Carneiro hearing, he is likely to find his team on the defensive.
The Portuguese has been obsessing about this fixture since the Premier League schedule was announced in June, and he will do whatever it takes to avoid defeat. As The Times revealed in the summer he even urged United to lobby the Premier League for the game to be rescheduled to a quieter week, a request the club resisted.
Mourinho’s intention tomorrow is to make an early appearance on the pitch to acknowledge the Chelsea fans and then get on with attempting to ruin their afternoon, although he may not receive the rapturous welcome he is perhaps envisaging. For the most successful manager in Chelsea’s history, who has delivered three of their five championships, Mourinho’s relationship with the fans is surprisingly nuanced, with last season’s spectacular implosion, his treatment of certain players and the failure to develop youngsters held against him.
While there is a huge amount of respect and admiration for Mourinho, not all Chelsea fans love him, according to David Johnstone, who edits the fanzine CFC UK.
‘‘There are some who still love Jose and think he walks on water, but I’m not one of them,’’ Johnstone says. ‘‘He’s still a Chelsea legend so hopefully there’ll be a polite round of applause and then we can get on with supporting the team.’’
Tim Rolls, former chairman of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, offers a similar view. ‘‘I don’t think there’ll be much reaction either way,’’ he says. ‘‘The way the team were playing last season he couldn’t go on. The fact that it’s the 20th anniversary of Matthew Harding’s death is much more significant.’’
Mourinho’s relationship with the team he left behind – and other key figures at the club – is also complex and he remains on very good
There are some who still love Jose and think he walks on water, but I’m not one of them.’ CFC UK EDITOR DAVID JOHNSTONE
terms with some. He travelled to the Carneiro hearing in a car from Stamford Bridge with Chelsea executives, and those who witnessed his conversations with chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia at the London South Tribunal attest to their warmth. ‘‘It was a serious occasion, but Jose was warm and personable,’’ one says.
Mourinho remains in fairly regular email contact with several members of Chelsea’s back-room staff, and communicates with some of his old players via text message. Such conversations are most common after matches in which either Mourinho or one of his former players have excelled, while he also makes a point of texting many of them on their birthdays.
‘‘Jose’s phone lights up after a game and it’s often messages from former players,’’ a United source says. ‘‘Jose is very good at managing relationships.
‘‘Football is a very small world and you’re always running into old colleagues and acquaintances. It’s all about utilising relationships as you never know when you might need someone in the future. It’s very rare for anyone to cut ties completely.’’
Despite this desire to remain on good terms, one of Mourinho’s Chelsea relationships does appear to have deteriorated since his departure, the crucial one with Roman Abramovich. In contrast to Mourinho’s first sacking at Stamford Bridge in September, 2007, which followed lengthy meetings with Abramovich, the owner was not present when he was dismissed last December, with Buck and technical director Michael Emenalo delivering the bad news at the club’s training ground.
The pair are not believed to have spoken since, another contrast to nine years ago, when Abramovich bought Mourinho a limited edition Ferrari 612 Scaglietti a few months after sacking him. ‘‘Roman and Jose don’t have any connection,’’ is how a source close to Abramovich describes the relationship.
Abramovich’s confidants say that while he respects Mourinho hugely, with hindsight he feels it was a mistake to bring him back to