Although Jose Mourinho had not actually been the manager of Chelsea that long, he arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004, his departure by mutual consent this week certainly feels like the end of an era.
Love him or loathe him he has certainly left his mark on Chelsea and the English game and proved himself one of the games' biggest characters.
Mourinho was the man chosen by Chelsea's ridiculously rich owner Roman Abramovich to turn Chelsea into a world power and he could not be accused of failing in the task.
In his three seasons at the club Chelsea won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup. Although they failed to lift the Champions League in that time victories over the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Valencia in the knockout stages highlighted the fact that the club had established itself among Europe's elite.
Yet somehow this did not seem enough to satisfy his employers. Dissatisfaction with the teams' style of play, or apparent lack of it, was voiced by the owner while for his part Jose Mourinho became increasingly disaffected with appointments within the club which he felt infringed on his authority.
The arrival of Frank Arnesen as Chief Scout with apparent influence over who the club signed was a particular bone of contention with Mourinho and the presence of Michael Ballack and Andrei Schevchenko at Stamford Bridge, apparently on the wishes of Abramovich not Mourinho, provided an open sore between the two parties.
Indeed few people will be surprised at this weeks' turn of events given what has happened over the past year or so.
In looking back over Jose Mourinho's time in England it cannot be denied that he has made a massive impact and achieved a great deal. The trophies he brought to Stamford Bridge can always be degraded by the assessment that Ambramovich's money was the main factor behind the success but they still needed winning.
Mourinho's impact was not confined to the pitch either. Off the pitch his opinions and comments provided the media with a constant stream of great copy and kept football followers everywhere supplied with a topic of conversation.
Love him or loathe him he has certainly left his mark on Chelsea and the English game and proved himself one of the games' biggest characters.
Mourinho was the man chosen by Chelsea's ridiculously rich owner Roman Abramovich to turn Chelsea into a world power and he could not be accused of failing in the task.
In his three seasons at the club Chelsea won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup. Although they failed to lift the Champions League in that time victories over the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Valencia in the knockout stages highlighted the fact that the club had established itself among Europe's elite.
Yet somehow this did not seem enough to satisfy his employers. Dissatisfaction with the teams' style of play, or apparent lack of it, was voiced by the owner while for his part Jose Mourinho became increasingly disaffected with appointments within the club which he felt infringed on his authority.
The arrival of Frank Arnesen as Chief Scout with apparent influence over who the club signed was a particular bone of contention with Mourinho and the presence of Michael Ballack and Andrei Schevchenko at Stamford Bridge, apparently on the wishes of Abramovich not Mourinho, provided an open sore between the two parties.
Indeed few people will be surprised at this weeks' turn of events given what has happened over the past year or so.
In looking back over Jose Mourinho's time in England it cannot be denied that he has made a massive impact and achieved a great deal. The trophies he brought to Stamford Bridge can always be degraded by the assessment that Ambramovich's money was the main factor behind the success but they still needed winning.
Mourinho's impact was not confined to the pitch either. Off the pitch his opinions and comments provided the media with a constant stream of great copy and kept football followers everywhere supplied with a topic of conversation.
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