Jose Mourinho is regarded by many as one of the greatest managers in modern day football having racked up a large number of individual accolades as well as trophies with all the team’s he’s managed.
The Portuguese boss rose to prominence after he won the UEFA Champions League trophy with Porto in 2004 making him one of the most sought after managers in European football at that time.
Not long after the Champions League victory, Chelsea came calling, and he signed for the Blues in 2004 becoming one of the highest paid coaches in football with an annual salary of £4.2 million that was subsequently raised to £5.2 million in 2005.
Under Jose Chelsea won their first league title in 50 years, the Blues then won a second consecutive Premier League title the following season.
Things certainly couldn’t get better for Mourinho then as the only success he was missing was a Champions League win with Chelsea.
The former Porto manager allegedly fell out with Roman Abramovic as both were avoiding eye contact on a number of issues including the signing of Andriy Shevchenko.
His disagreements with the Chelsea owner apparently led to his exit in 2007.
His return to Chelsea in 2013 was greeted with many expectations, but he finished the season with bringing any silverware to Stamford Bridge. However, things started turning up right for the self-proclaimed special one the following season as Chelsea lifted the Premier League trophy in the 2014-15 season.
But the success proved very short lived as Chelsea’s campaign as defending champions has been a far cry from what it was in the previous season. Right now, the reigning champions are flirting with relegation zone following their poor performances which leaves them at 16th on the table.
The news of Mourinho’s sacking just came a couple of days ago but what actually caused the downfall of such a talented Manager?
Unlike his former mentor Louis Van Gaal Mourinho is known for his eccentric tactical style except during games where he requires a draw or games against significantly stronger sides where he uses his ‘Park the bus tactic’.
Earlier this season he had some friction with former Chelsea physio Eva Carneiro as he blamed her for reducing the squad to ten men against Swansea as she ran onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard.
Although looking at Mourinho’s treatment of some players, it’s evident he didn’t appreciate the importance of certain players to the team that in turn caused some players to lose their respect for Mourinho as a manager and resulted in bad performances on the pitch.
One thing Mourinho definitely had the backing of the fans, Chelsea fans cherished and respected his presence at the club, and his recent sacking has come as disheartening news to Chelsea fans around the world as many expected him to turn things around in the new year.
The loss to Leicester on Monday certainly was the final blow in Mourinho’s Chelsea career as the Board were fed up with Chelsea’s poor run of form.
Roman Abramovich admitted it was a hard decision to let Mourinho go, but it was done with the club’s best interest at heart.
It was quite obvious that the players had lost motivation under Mourinho this season, with the key players in the side such as Hazard and Diego Costa not playing to their full potential.
With Chelsea’s chances at top four looking slim, Abramovich will have to bring in an experienced manager that can help them finish as high up in the league as they possibly can.
Chelsea are still in contention for the Champions League, but they face a difficult task in getting through to the quarter-finals as they are set to face PSG in the Round of 16 when the new year kicks off.
The ongoing season could very well be a repeat of the Champions League victory in 2012 when Chelsea had a poor league campaign under Di Matteo but went on to win the biggest prize in club football beating the likes of Benfica and Barcelona on the road to the final against Bayern Munich.
