Chelsea boss Graham Potter recently described his gig in charge at Stamford Bridge as “the hardest job in football”, but Jose Mourinho might disagree with the ex-Brighton man. The Portuguese coach moved from Porto to Chelsea in 2004 and after his first window in charge went on to lift the Premier League title in his first season.
After a strong first transfer window, Mourinho and Chelsea went on that season to lift their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years and recorded the most points ever achieved in the league, until Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City took that record as centurions in 2018. Mourinho, bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, went on to spend over £70m and brought some key figures to the club.
The summer of 2004 saw club icons Petr Cech and Didier Drogba move to Stamford Bridge, while Mourinho brought Porto pair Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Fereira to the club that window. Mourinho’s first few months at the club also saw Arjen Robben, Tiago, Mateja Kezman and Nuno Morais join him.
The previous season Chelsea finished second under Claudio Ranieri and had some clear talent, as Frank Lampard and John Terry with Claude Makelele helped make up the spine of the team. Carlo Cudicini was the Blues’ first-choice goalkeeper, however, and Mourinho moved swiftly to replace him with Cech who would go on to become one of the best stoppers of his generation.
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