How Chelsea’s Special One has become the club’s Hated One

Fri, 21 Feb, 2020 - 20:39

Chris Hatherall

Chelsea fans have just about had it with Jose Mourinho, the man they once worshipped for ending 50 years without a title; so when he walks out at Stamford Bridge as Tottenham manager this weekend it will almost certainly be the last straw in a relationship that has long gone sour.

Chelsea, remember, is where Mourinho was first introduced to the world.

He may have already won the Champions League with Porto when he arrived in London in 2004, and he may have gained international attention by sprinting up the touchline at Old Trafford to celebrate a goal against Manchester United with the Portuguese champions. But the “Special One” was born at Stamford Bridge and trademarked on Roman Abramovich’s holy turf.

When you look at what he achieved there in two spells — the club’s first title since 1955, two more Premier League trophies, an FA Cup and three League Cups — then there ought to be a statue to remember him at his old stomping ground.

But there isn’t; and Saturday, when Mourinho returns to a club he all but built, there will be no on-the-pitch presentation, no waving to the crowd, no chanting of his name from the Matthew Harding stand.

The best he can hope for is a brutal silence from the fans who once followed him as a footballing Messiah — or maybe that’s the worst case scenario for a man who so hates to be ignored.

The reason is partly the way he ended his second spell at the Bridge, when the Special One’s relationships with almost everyone disintegrated in the wake of his callous treatment of physio Eva Carneiro, during a season in which Chelsea’s hopes — and their form — collapsed around him.

But more significant are the career choices Mourinho has made since leaving his first Premier League club and his failure to understand the impact it would have on his west London legacy.

His first return, with Inter Milan in the Champions League, was friendly enough — even when his side won 1-0.

But the games at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United were far from it.

Chelsea fans shocked their former manager with the ferocity of their anger towards him in October 2016 when he arrived on United duty. There was a warm embrace from his former captain John Terry but certainly not from the crowd as they taunted him during a 4-0 victory with fans singing ‘You’re not special anymore’.

Mourinho, who was visibly affected, later accused Antonio Conte of attempting to humiliate him by rousing and cajoling the home crowd at 4-0; but what really hurt was that the fans he thought would be with him forever had turned on him, seemingly without a thought for what he had shared with them in the past.

Since then there have been further rows. Mourinho reminding Chelsea fans he is “still number one” after being heckled in an FA Cup defeat at the Bridge. A three-fingered gesture to the same fans (one for each title win achieved at Chelsea under his managership) on another occasion.

So, you can see the direction of travel as he attempts to win at Stamford Bridge for the first time since that triumph with Inter a decade ago. These days, of course, he has taken it one step further. It may not be obvious to those outside of London but Tottenham are the club that Chelsea fans hate the most. More than United, more than Arsenal, more than Liverpool, more than West Ham — so the sight of Mourinho on the Spurs bench, demonstrating the same passion and same apparent loyalty he showed in Chelsea blue will be too much.

The last nail in the coffin.

Simon Johnson, Chelsea correspondent for the Athletic, and who has covered the club for various outlets for more than 20 years, has no doubts that the relationship is now gone and unrecoverable.

“Mourinho is the greatest manager in Chelsea’s history, but you will struggle to find much affection for him at Stamford Bridge these days,” he said.

“The relationship between the fanbase and Mourinho was in decline long before he agreed to join fierce rivals Tottenham. That decision has just provided the exclamation point.

“It has surprised me at times how sensitive followers of Chelsea have been to barbs aimed at the club by Mourinho since he left for a second time because they should recognise his methods better than anyone. For example, there were few complaints over his behaviour when calling Arsene Wenger ‘a specialist in failure’.

“But due to his treatment of Eva Carneiro, public criticism of the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, his pragmatic style of play and unseemly row with another Chelsea coach in Antonio Conte, supporters have increasingly fallen out of love with him.

“Mourinho won’t be forgotten in west London, but you get the impression he won’t be forgiven either.”

What will be interesting to see is whether the anger Chelsea fans felt at Mourinho’s behaviour with Manchester United still burns, or whether the feeling is now one of indifference — just one more reason to hate Tottenham and nothing more.

We can be pretty sure, however, that the welcome will not be a warm one.