Moving Target – Jose Mourinho

The worst-kept secret in football was finally revealed on Monday afternoon. Just a day after his controversial spell as manager of Real Madrid came to an end, Jose Mourinho was welcomed back to Chelsea with open arms as “The Special One” returned to Stamford Bridge on a four-year contract. Having left the club by mutual consent back in September 2007, Mourinho’s reinstallation affords the Blues their fourth manager since 2011/12, after Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez were afforded little time at the reins by Roman Abramovich:

The announcement came via the club’s official website earlier this week and with Mourinho set to be revealed to the media in a press conference next Monday, Chelsea’s Chief Executive Ron Gourlay went on to say:

“I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate. It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that. He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.”

The History

As Abramovich already knows, Mourinho pretty much guarantees trophies. Snapped up by the London outfit in 2004 after winning the Uefa Cup, Champions League and a couple of league titles with Porto, Mourinho made an instant impact first time around at the Bridge. His 4-3-3 formation, with Didier Drogba leading the line and Frank Lampard supplying plenty the threat from midfield, harvested the club’s first Premier League crown for 50 years and then delivered the title again the following year before a series of disagreements with Abramovich over player acquisitions eventually led to the Portuguese’s departure.

Mourinho spent almost a year out of the hotseat before taking over from Roberto Mancini at Inter back in June 2008. Over a couple of seasons at the San Siro, he again produced back-to-back league titles and ended his final campaign in charge by delivering the treble, with the Champions League and Italian Cup also acquired. Mourinho then moved to the Bernabeu and was tasked with breaking up Barcelona’s dominance of the Spanish domestic game. He managed this once in three seasons, finishing runner-up twice but, despite reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in each of his campaigns in charge, never quite endeared himself to the Madrid faithful.

Notoriously nomadic, Mourinho’s tendency to move around has led to criticisms that he’s yet to build a lasting legacy at any of his clubs, despite his undoubted success. Speaking to Chelsea’s official website after his arrival was announced, however, he suggested that he is set to bring continuity to Stamford Bridge at the second time of asking:

“When you look at the profile of the Chelsea squad I think it’s what they need at this time. It’s very important for this club and very important for the balance of the squad, but it’s a young squad with a lot of talent and I think they need stability to reach a high point of their evolution and for their careers. They need stability, stability I hope I can give them and between me, the owner and of course the club, we have no doubts about what we want to do and the approach we want to have.”

The Previous Regime

Somewhat cruelly dubbed “The Interim One” by the press, Rafa Benitez was simply never accepted by the Stamford Bridge faithful. After taking over from former Chelsea player Roberto Di Matteo on a short-term contract in November last year, the Spaniard was subject to fans protests and abuse on a regular basis but ultimately delivered the silverware and leaves behind a relatively impressive record.

Benitez inherited a bloated schedule – including World Club Championship duties – as Chelsea played an incredible 48 times during his seven months at the helm. Nevertheless, he steered the Blues to the Europa League trophy, a third place finish and the FA Cup semi-final – ironically, his win ratio of 58% is the highest of Benitez’s managerial career so far.

From a Fantasy perspective, fears of rest and rotation for the likes of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard really came to fruition as the pair played pivotal roles under the former Liverpool boss. Benitez also handed us an out of position prospect in the form of David Luiz, with the Portuguese defender’s versatility affording him plenty game time in the double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1, though the Spaniard was unable to solve Chelsea’s misfiring striking dilemma, with both Fernando Torres and Demba Ba failing to fire domestically.

The Season Ahead

One thing’s for sure – the Premier League is going to be that little bit more entertaining with Mourinho back in the frame. His mind-games and candid press conferences will become eagerly anticipated by Fantasy managers every Friday afternoon as we look for clues to the latest Chelsea line-up – an approach refreshingly at odds with Benitez’s non-committal team news statements.

Having utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation in Madrid, Mourinho is expected to keep the same shape for the season ahead. Certainly, he has the players to fit the bill, with Mata, Hazard and Oscar heading up the pecking order for the attacking midfield three positions, though Bayer Leverkusen have admitted the clubs are in talks over the possible sale of Andre Schurrle. Despite unfounded reports in the Spanish press linking both Mata and Torres with moves away from the Bridge, Mourinho has been quick to talk up the talent already at his disposal as he prepares for a summer where many a name will undoubtedly be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge:

“We have to improve the team, and when I say improve the team people are already thinking about how many millions Chelsea are going to spend, and when I say improve the team I am saying improving by work. My work has to improve players and improve the team. The profile of the younger players with long-term space for improvement and development, I like very much that kind of profile. I’ve come with a four-year contract so if I read the situation with the immediate age of [Eden] Hazard, Oscar, [David] Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me.”

His naming of Luiz, in particular, will be of interest to Fantasy managers. The Brazilian has been linked with a move away from the Bridge since Benitez left but Mourinho’s words of assurance suggest Luiz could be set to be a major player for the London outfit next term – likely to be classified as a defender across the Fantasy games again, his potential move to midfield will be keenly scouted over pre-season.

Mourinho’s treatment of trusted lieutenants John Terry and Frank Lampard also looks intriguing. Despite recovering from a knee injury, Terry spent much of last season as a peripheral figure under Benitez and with Luiz, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic all offering alternatives at centre-half, his consistency of selection may well be called into question again – his manager has already hinted he won’t be looking at “status or past” when assessing his skipper. Lampard’s 15 goal haul last time out showed he’s still more than capable of producing the goods and, like Oscar, may prove a decent midfield alternative to the likes of Mata and Hazard if the Fantasy games price him more kindly.

With a likely double Gameweek at the start of the campaign due to Super Cup duties against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in late August, Mourinho’s team selection over the summer friendlies will be key to how we assess our starting squads. Whether he perseveres with Torres and/or Ba is perhaps debatable, though it’s notable that in his final season at Madrid, Mourinho utilised plenty rotation up top, starting Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain on 19 occasions apiece. Factor Romelu Lukaku into the equation and there are plenty questions to be answered – if the big Belgian is farmed out on loan once again, he’ll be on many a radar after his exploits in the final few months of the previous season for West Brom. If Mourinho decides to install Lukaku as his first-choice forward, though, he’s likely to be one of the best value forwards across the Fantasy games next term.

Analysing his selection policy further, Mourinho handed just one player – Cristiano Ronaldo – 30+ La Liga starts in 2012/13, though Fantasy managers will be hoping this was mainly down to Madrid’s multitude of first-team options rather than a new-found rest and rotation policy. Indeed, in a season where the new men in charge at both United and City could potentially alter our assessment of the Fantasy landscape, a return to the days of the ”Untouchables”, where the majority of Mourinho’s Chelsea first XI were guaranteed game time, would bring Fantasy managers welcome relief.