Jose Mourinho has secured his first piece of silverware since returning to English football, and you can be almost certain that it won’t be his last.
– La Liga: Alberto Bueno’s quartet and Isco’s unpopular exit
– Liverpool target Higuain inspired Napoli revival
– Off The Bar: Ultimate underdog story as Chelsea prevail
Despite his protestations, the Portuguese had seemed somehow uncomfortable in his second spell at Chelsea, keeping a once adoring media at arm’s length while indulging in conspiracy theories.
But at Wembley he appeared much more relaxed, playfully spraying a TV camera with water while the game was in the balance and leading the celebrations with fans and players alike once it had been won.
Supporters of some clubs may scoff at the measure of delight that Mourinho took in defeating Tottenham on Sunday, it was only the League Cup final after all. Yet he knows that in football success breeds success, and that victory at Wembley might just give his squad the momentum they need to go on and land a historic treble.
6 – Jose Mourinho has now won six trophies as Chelsea manager (3 League Cups, 2 league titles, 1 FA Cup). Boss.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2015
If the Premier League and Champions League are added to the Chelsea trophy cabinet come June 7 then few will value Sunday’s achievement as their equal. But what Mourinho understands is that without it the task at hand would have become infinitely harder, however eager Manchester City appear to be to hand over their domestic crown.
Defeat would have been hugely deflating and could have derailed the club’s season, instead though, this team now has the belief that they can win trophies together. Eight players in the Wembley squad had yet to collect a winner’s medal in Chelsea blue, and their coach will hope Sunday’s celebrations prove infectious.
Those jubilant scenes were given an added significance due to City’s earlier slip up at Anfield but with a London derby at West Ham tomorrow, Mourinho will not allow his players’ focus to drop. Instead, he is cultivating a siege mentality designed to ensure that his squad keep their minds trained on securing success.
It was telling that the banned Nemanja Matic was asked to deliver a pre-game team talk, and as he danced around the hallowed turf in full kit at the final whistle, his manager again spoke of his “pain” at missing out.
Mourinho is keen to give his squad and their fans a perceived injustice to rail against, and you can expect the club’s £30,000 (Dh169,000) Football Association (FA) fine for failing to control their players against Everton to be used as further fuel for the fire.
Mourinho’s crusade can at times appear hypocritical and one-eyed but it is creating the kind of collective spirit that often leads to championship titles. Indeed, it was a tactic often used by Sir Alex Ferguson during his
Mourinho also ensured that Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and even Andreas Christensen weren’t left sulking in the background of the celebrations as he noted their contributions to the success. Courtois and Luis would have probably expected to start, and their coach knows they will both have a huge role to play if Chelsea are to fight on two fronts.
Their mission begins again at Upton Park tomorrow night, and crucially FA Cup defeat to Bradford City means they have a week to prepare for a tricky Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain. Win those two games and the great Chelsea conspiracy theory will edge ever closer to a fairytale ending
