The Demise of Jose Mourinho
Three seasons ago Jose Mourinho had just completed one of the hardest feats of the modern game- surprising the world after helping Portuguese club FC Porto win the Champions League; today he is without a job. Despite winning two Premier League titles, two Carling Cup trophies and an FA Cup trophy in his time with Chelsea Football Club, there was always speculation that Mourinho would leave one way or another eventually- his relationship with Abramovich was rocky, to say the least. Although Mourinho had won the trophies Abramovich craved, he did not do it in the style the owner wanted. Envious eyes were cast over London neighbours Arsenal after their glorious unbeaten season, but it seemed that Abramovich was happy to allow Mourinho to stay at the helm as long as the trophies came in- although those close to the Russian businessman hinted that he wanted the Champions League most of all.
After the sensational news emerged last night that Mourinho had left the club by mutual consent, many football fans were not surprised. It seemed as if this moment had been coming for quite some time, ever since Abramovich apparently refused the signing of Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim in January- a decision that may well have cost them the title. Since then, it appears that Abramovich’s extravagant transfer spending has ended, with Chelsea’s sole big buy in this transfer window being Florent Malouda from Lyon for around £13.5 million. The club were in for Daniel Alves, but Abramovich refused to shell out the fee that Sevilla wanted- meaning that Mourinho got Barcelona fringe player Julio Belletti instead; hardly a like-for-like swap.
Posted on September 21st, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Filed under: Chelsea, England, Mourinho, Premiership, football