What if: Jose Mourinho never joined Chelsea
In the game of football, there are no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts.’ Everything in the game revolves around minute details and decisions made by players, managers and owners in a rather short period of time. However, as fans, we have the liberty to wonder what would have been the scene of present day football if a simple decision by one of the instrumental people in world football went another way.
One of the defining moments in world football came in 2004. A relatively young manager, Jose Mourinho had risen to prominence after a fantastic season with Portuguese side F.C. Porto. The Portuguese team won the League and the Champions league and top English clubs were looking to sign him.
Also read: What if: Cristiano Ronaldo never left Manchester United
While Jose wanted to move to Liverpool, Rafa Benitez’s exploits with Valencia impressed the Merseysiders and they went for the Spaniard which left Chelsea’s Roman Abrahamovic making a big money deal to land the Portuguese man.
Jose Mourinho obliged and the rest is history. However, let's take a look at five things that would’ve been different if Mourinho did not sign for the Blues.
#1 Chelsea would not be as established a team as they are today
When we talk about the top teams of European football Chelsea FC’s is always in the midst of it. They are the last English team to win both the Europa League and the Champions League and have also won the most number of Premier League titles in the past decade apart from Manchester United. All of this is thanks to a fantastic project from Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovic.
While Claudio Ranieri was the man chosen to lead Chelsea under Roman, it was Mourinho who made them a team to be feared. Mourinho signed fantastic players like Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, and Tiago in his first season. Chelsea won the League Cup which was their first trophy followed by a record-breaking Premier League trophy when the Blues also accumulated the most number of points in a season.
In the Champions League, they reached the semi-finals. With Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and John Terry the leading players in their positions, Jose built a team that would go on to dominate the Premier League for almost a decade until they won the Champions League in 2012.