Jose Mourinho cemented his status as one of the greatest managers in Chelsea history during his three-year stint at the club between 2004 and 2007. The Special One was beloved at Stamford Bridge, so why did he leave?
On September 20, 2007, Jose Mourinho departed Chelsea by mutual consent after a disappointing start to the 2007-08 season. Avram Grant, the Blues’ director of football, replaced Mourinho, whose relationship with owner Roman Abramovich had become tense.
Mourinho’s last game of his first Chelsea run ended in a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League group stage on September 18, 2007.
Did Chelsea sack Jose Mourinho in 2007?
Simple answer: no. Chelsea announced in a club statement that Jose Mourinho’s departure was mutually agreed due to his strained relationship with Roman Abramovich.
“The reason the decision has been taken is that we believed the breakdown [between Abramovich and Mourinho] started to impact on the performance of the team,” a Chelsea statement read. “Recent results supported this view. We did not want this to continue or affect the club further.”
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Chelsea won three, drew two and lost one of their first six Premier League games of the 2007-08 season. The club’s last league game under Mourinho ended in a 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers on September 15, 2007.
When did Jose Mourinho join Chelsea?
Jose Mourinho joined Chelsea to much fanfare on June 2, 2004. He initially caught the eye of the football world after winning the UEFA Cup and Champions League with Porto in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
The Special One joined Chelsea at a time when Roman Abramovich’s riches hadn’t quite brought the success that he wanted. Claudio Ranieri was in charge during the first season of the Abramovich era in 2003-04, but the Italian failed to deliver any silverware.
In his first game as Chelsea boss, Mourinho led his team to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League on August 15, 2004. Eidur Gudjohnsen scored the only goal of the game.
Jose Mourinho stats at Chelsea
Chelsea won 124, drew 40 and lost 21 matches under Jose Mourinho between 2004 and 2007. During that time, the Blues scored 330 goals and only conceded 119 times.
In terms of trophies, Mourinho won the Premier League twice, FA Cup once and League Cup twice during his first Chelsea reign. He also won the Community Shield once.
What happened to Jose Mourinho after leaving Chelsea?
Nine months on from his surprise Chelsea exit, Jose Mourinho was appointed coach of Inter Milan on June 2, 2008. He led the Italian giants to the Serie A title in 2008-09. A year later, he followed up that success by winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in 2009-10.
Under Mourinho’s guidance, Inter became the first Italian club in history to win the treble.