Jose Mourinho is back! Yes, he’s back. Chelsea fans are still jubilant “The Special One” now “The Happy One” has returned to Chelsea. It now seems like he never even left, Feels good to have him back.
As expected, rival English Premier League fans are not excited about Mourinho’s return to England, they have not hidden their ill-feelings towards the world-class manager.
Mourinho has something to prove at Chelsea despite the fact he's already known as one of the best we have ever seen. His fall out with Real Madrid would have multiplied his passion to win. He will be looking to make his Chelsea team unbeatable and protect his Stamford Bridge unbeaten status.
The Blues performed well during the pre-season, winning six of their seven games. They convincingly beat Italian giants, AC Milan and Inter Milan. And although they fell to a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Real Madrid side, the Blues still finished strongly as they earned a hard-fought victory against Roma on Saturday night.
Against Roma the Blues displayed the sort of spirit every "real" team we have seen Jose Mourinho manage, the spirit to never lose or even draw but win, summarily, the spirit to never give up. They fought back and won the game at the death.
It was just a pre-season game but the players played in the second-half like a win actually meant more than it did.
Chelsea have done some business already this summer. The team was strong last season but squad depth was always a problem.
INs
Andre Schurrle
Marco van Ginkel
Mark Schwarzer
OUTs
Yossi Benayoun
Paulo Ferreira
Jeffrey Bruma
Ross Turnbull
Florent Malouda
Thibaut Courtios (Loan)
Patrick van Aanholt (Loan)
Oriol Romeu (Loan)
Marko Marin (Loan)
Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne were excellent on loan to West Brom and Werder Bremen respectively last season. Mourinho made the decision to keep both of them as he believes they have something to offer the team now. Both of them will be looking to repay the manager's faith in them.
Michael Essien has returned to Chelsea too after having a solid last season with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. Everyone knows what Essien is capable of but there is little doubt about him been at his best. Essien will want to continue to give Mourinho more than enough reason to keep him in the starting 11.
Young defender Tomas Kalas too will be part of the squad this season according to Mourinho after spending few years on loan.
Chelsea isn’t surely done with transfers with the club in hot pursuit of England International striker, Wayne Rooney who is currently a Manchester United player.
Mourinho said that Chelsea will continue to try to snatch him away until the window closes. The player is rumoured to be bent on joining the West London club this summer.
The manager has also dismissed any potential departures, said he
won’t be selling any of his players. Squad depth is not a problem for Chelsea anymore.
Players To Watch
Juan Mata
The 25-year-old little Spaniard arrived at Stamford Bridge during the summer of 2011 from Valencia.
He made an immediate impact at the club, was the club’s player of the year in his first season and won the accolade again for his last season’s exploits.
The Chelsea play-maker has continued to go from strength to strength. Chelsea missed him against Real Madrid as there’s no one as good as him at creating chances in the team. Juan Mata has unbelievable vision and his deliveries from set pieces are excellent.
When Mata is on the pitch and on his day Chelsea are certainly a much better team. Jose Mourinho and the fans will be looking forward to his imminent improvement on last season’s outstanding performance.
What of Eden Hazard?
Some say he can't be stopped, we all know that he's hard to stop for the best defenders. Eden Hazard goes past you, you let him go or get booked.
Chelsea’s 22-year-old Belgian arrived from Lille during last summer for a reported £32million after Chelsea beat Premier League rivals, Manchester United and Manchester City to his signature.
He took the Premier League by storm and was MOTM in the team’s first four league matches.
Hazard seemed to have fallen asleep at a time but he came back to life after his infamous clash with that ball boy.
His combination with Mata and Oscar ripped defences apart. Hazard had a great first season and with Mourinho back at the club, he has got himself the best tutor around. Mourinho has vowed to help turn him into an even better player. Even non-Chelsea fans will be watching out for this man.
Another to look out for this season is Marco Van Ginkel.
At just twenty years of age, Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel was signed from Vitesse this summer. Before Chelsea’s first pre-season match, a friend of mine asked me who Chelsea’s latest signing was and I told him Van Ginkel. He just laughed and asked when Chelsea would buy a star player. I smiled and told him to wait and see during the season if they already signed a star player in him (van Ginkel).
I’ve been greatly pleased with what I’ve seen from the youngster in pre-season. He described himself as a box to box midfielder but Mourinho has deployed him as the holding midfielder in the pivot.
He still has to improve but at the age he is, his reading of the game is excellent, he works hard defensively and contributes to the attack well too.
Remember his name, you might be saying his name all season. Marco van Ginkel is one to watch this season and I believe he will surprise not just every Chelsea fan but every football fan.
My Verdict: Barclays Premier League Winners
You might not like Jose Mourinho but no one can deny that he's an established winner. He has won a lot since he started his managerial career, in different leagues for different teams.
With him back at the bridge, expectations are high. How they start the season will be pivotal, but the key advantage Mourinho will have over other managers is he is simply a clas act.
I believe at the end of the season, rivals will feel right to have been shivering on hearing he's back and the fans will be feel vindicated to have celebrated Jose Mourinho's return to the club. Chelsea fans, expect success at all fronts! Remember you read that here...