Jose Mourinho believes his Premier League leaders have the potential to be even better than the vintage Chelsea of his first spell, but warned his players they have won nothing yet.
Chelsea are certain of topping the table for another week even if Louis van Gaal – Mourinho’s one-time mentor – masterminds a victory for Manchester United over the Blues at Old Trafford today.
Mourinho and United endured rare trophyless seasons last term and, while silverware appears a great challenge for Van Gaal, for Chelsea it seems within reach after a scintillating start to the campaign.
“Last time we won a lot,” said Mourinho, referring to his two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups from June 2004 to September 2007.
“It’s not good for a team that’s won nothing to be compared with a team that won everything. (But) at the same time I have also to be honest and say that this team is showing great quality in its football and, if we manage to also win titles, it can be better, but let’s see.”
Much was made of Mourinho’s Chelsea being physical and direct during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, but he insists he works with the players at his disposal.
“We are trying to play a football adapted to the qualities of our players,” he added. “This is something people sometimes don’t understand. If you are a team that has players that are killers at counter attack, you have to play that style.
“If you have players very strong with a low block (defensive line) and direct football, you have to play that style. If you have people like Eden (Hazard) and Oscar and Fabregas, these kind of players, you need the ball. You need to control the game by having the ball and by using their intelligence and creativity.”
A player like Nemanja Matic has allowed Fabregas to flourish, but Mourinho believes the Serbia midfielder is more than an uncompromising presence.
“They understand each other very, very, very well. People sometimescan look to a physical guy like Matic and think he’s a physical player,” added Mourinho
“He’s very technical. He plays fantastic football.”
Mourinho learnt from, and by, experience when at Barcelona working as Van Gaal’s assistant.
Today’s match will be the second competitive clash between the pair, the first coming in the 2010 Champions League final which Mourinho’s Inter Milan won against Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese recalled “good memories” of the Catalan Cup win while at Barcelona, when Van Gaal gave him the run of the team.
“I took the team, but he was in the stands,” Mourinho added. “He was there to support. He was in the stands. He came down at half-time to the dressing room to listen to my team talk. He didn’t want to interfere, because probably he thought that was right.”
