Jose Mourinho is known for his somewhat defensive approach to football; his focus has always been on having a solid foundation at the back which allows his teams to win titles. This can easily be seen during his times at Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and his favourite, Chelsea FC. His defensive approach has rewarded him with possibly every title he could achieve; the treble with Porto, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, all possible domestic trophies in England and Italy and the Champions league. This approach is often criticised by other teams and managers, but this criticism also comes from teams and managers inferior to his team and his persona. These managers include Rafael Benitez (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger aka Specialist in Failure (Arsenal) and even Frank Rijkaard (FC Barcelona).

2004-2007

Since 2003, when Roman Abramovich bought the struggling Stamford Bridge side and cleared their debts, Chelsea have become a team associated with success. When Abramovich brought  Jose Mourinho, the ‘Special One’, to Chelsea FC, they became an instant success. Most of their success, as always, can be attributed to the excellent Chelsea defence. In Mourinho’s first season with Chelsea he formed what is possibly Chelsea’s best team ever. Mourinho led Chelsea to their first league title in 50 years and he won the League Cup as well. In said season, the Blues only conceded 15 goals in the league, a league record, and achieved the highest ever points total (95). The following season they became the first-ever team in the modern era to win the Premier League back-to-back. This distant cousin to the Great Wall of China included the likes of Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and weak-link Wayne Bridge.

In the title-winning season of ’06, Chelsea conceded only 22 goals, although it was more than the previous season it is still an impressive number. In 2006, Chelsea patched up that weak link by bringing in dynamic left-back, Ashley Cole, while also reinforcing the centre of the defence by bringing in Khalid Boulahrouz. With Ashley Cole, Chelsea finally had the perfect defense. The seemingly unbreakable defence was marshalled by the one and only John Terry. He was partnered by the two Portuguese, Carvalho and Ferreira and his English team-mate Ashley Cole; although Joe Cole was still on the team he was not a defender but a midfielder.

In the 2006-2007 season there was friction beginning to set between the ‘Special One’ and oligarch Abramovich. Mourinho managed to cruise Chelsea to the League Cup and FA Cup titles but the ride for the title was turbulent and disappointing. For the first time in 5 years Mourinho had lost the title. His defence had conceded 24 goals, an increase of 9 goals since his first season. The following season Chelsea made some odd yet exciting transfers. These transfer included the then lethal striker, Andriy Shevchenko. They also brought in three defenders, Juliano Belletti from Barcelona and Alex from PSV, both Brazilians and Serbian giant Branislav Ivanovic; a good transfer in hindsight.

At the start of the 2007-2008 season the expiration date between Mourinho and Chelsea passed as the milk soured between him and the Blues owner. He left and was soon picked up by Inter Milan. In his time at Chelsea he cemented the foundations that would carry the team on through turbulent times as Roman had fun with managerial merry-go-round. In his three full seasons with the club, his defence only allowed 61 goals in 114 Premier League matches. His defence managed to stop strikers such as Thierry Henry and His presence at the Bridge helped make it a fortress which every team feared.

2013-Who Knows

Mourinho faced a tough return to London in his first season. After years of battles he has become a more weathered and experienced manager. His times at Inter gave him glory and love while the city of Madrid gave him nightmares and hardships. Last season he came back with the sole objective of reinstating stability at SW6. After going through nine managers, he was the man chosen to catapult the Pensioners back to the top of the table. Since he left Chelsea missed out on many trophies but also won plenty more, the most notable of the which was the Champions League. Now he is back at the Bridge ready to claim that trophy and more. The 2013-2014 season was disappointing, not only to the fans and Abramovich, but to him as well. It was Mourinho’s second consecutive season without silverware and he has gone into the Chelsea record books for becoming the first manager under Abramovich to go a whole season, lose out on all trophies available and not get fired.

One of the biggest changes in his second run-around was the defence. He now had Cahill instead of Carvalho and Ivanovic instead of Ferreira. But the biggest change perhaps was the neglect with which he treated Ashley Cole in favour of Spanish  right-back Cesar Azpilicueta. This bright young fullback made the switch from the right to the left of the field and plied his trade there for much of the season. Many fans questioned Mourinho; others praised him for his cleverness and tactics. Sure Azpilicueta worked hard, maybe even harder than everyone else, but why play him there when you have a world-class fullback in Ashley Cole? Nonetheless, the Blues managed to scrape towards another third place finish whilst maintaining the best defence in the Premiership. They only conceded 27 goals; a small, yet big number for miser Jose Mourinho.

Now Chelsea will enter their 109th year as a team, with Jose Mourinho at the helm. They have added Filipe Luis and Thibaut Courtois. Both are world-class. Luis-not David Luiz, he left for premium fee of 50 million to PSG-is also from Atletico Madrid, much like returning loanee Courtois. They were both part of Atletico’s league winning team and UCL finalists. Now with Filipe Luis Mourinho has what is possibly the most complete left-back in the world. Luis is a defence first type of left-back, a Mourinho favorite and is also very capable of dribbling and crossing. If he and Hazard can sort out the attacking part on the left, watch out. This will allow Azpilicueta to challenge Ivanovic for a place in the starting XI. Courtois, the natural heir to Cech, can challenge for the number 1 spot, something which a few years ago seemed unthinkable. Although the defensive members of the team have changed, except Terry and Cech, there will now be more competent competition for spots in the starting lineup with Courtois, Luis, and some youngsters such as Nathan Ake and Kurt Zouma. Mourinho has no time for losing and conceding goals; anyone who imposes himself in his path is bound for 90 minutes of hell.

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