The special one is back: Mourinho signs four-year deal to return to Stamford Bridge
- Portuguese manager signs four-year deal at west London club
- Mourinho to be officially unveiled on Monday June 10
- Former Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager brings coaches Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais
- Chief executive Ron Gourlay speaks of 'delight' at welcoming Mourinho back
- Manager has seal of approval of Chelsea players
By DAVID KENT
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Jose Mourinho described Chelsea as his 'passion' after he signed a four-year deal to become manager of the west London club for the second time.
Having held meetings to finalise the deal with Blues officials on Monday, just hours after his departure from Real Madrid, Mourinho spoke of his happiness at embarking upon his second spell as Chelsea manager.
When asked by a Chelsea TV journalist if he promised to deliver the same quality to Stamford Bridge as he did during his previous tenure, Mourinho replied: 'It is exactly the same message but now I can say I am one of you and that is the difference.
Scroll down for video and the full transcript of Mourinho's first interview...
Back in town: Jose Mourinho holds his Chelsea shirt after being confirmed as the new Chelsea manager
Welcome home: Mourinho says he has two passions in football, Chelsea and Inter
Back in England: Jose Mourinho has signed a four-year deal at Chelsea
Farewell: Jose Mourinho took charge of his final game for Real Madrid before returning to manage Chelsea
Snapped: Mourinho was spotted at Heathrow Airport on Sunday as he closed in on his return to Chelsea
'I never hid that in football, in my career, I had two great passions. Inter and Chelsea. And Chelsea is more than important for me.
'It was very, very hard to play against Chelsea and I did it only twice which was not so bad. I promise exactly the same things as I promised in 2004 with the difference that I am one of you.
'I had to prepare myself not to be too emotional on my arrival at the club, but obviously I am very happy.
'It was an easy decision. I met the boss, I met the owner and in five minutes after a couple of very short but pragmatic questions, we decided straight away.
'I asked the boss "do you want me back?" and the boss asked me "do you want to come back?" and in a couple of minutes, the decision was made.'
Mourinho feels with hindsight the parting of the ways back in September 2007, when he was replaced by Avram Grant, was perhaps what both needed at the time, as Chelsea have since also gone on to win the European Cup last season.
'It was a difficult moment because I love it here and have a big connection with the club. Also for the club, my departure it was not easy,' he said.
'But if you analyse it in a cool way and you leave emotions a bit apart, I think it was fantastic.
'Because after that I had in my career what I was aiming for and Chelsea as a football club got important trophies after that, with important moments in the history of the club.
'Now we are back together and it is a great moment for both, so I think we are ready to marry again and to be happy and successful again.'
Mourinho will be officially unveiled in a press conference on Monday June 10.
Mourinho brings coaching staff Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais with him from Real, and will already be plotting how he will claim Chelsea's first Premier League title since 2010 next season.
A statement on the club website read: 'Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Jose Mourinho as first team manager.
'Mourinho has signed a four-year contract and will return to the club where he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups between 2004 and 2007.
'He brings three coaching staff with him in Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais. Each carries the title of assistant first team coach and will work alongside current first team staff Steve Holland, Christophe Lollichon and Chris Jones.
'The new manager will be officially presented in a press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday 10 June, further details of which will follow in due course.'
Ron Gourlay, Chelsea's chief executive, added: 'I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate.
'It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.
'He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.'
VIDEO: Watch Jose Mourinho's interview with Chelsea TV
Me again: Mourinho won two Premier League titles during his first spell as Chelsea manager
MOURINHO'S FIRST GAMES
Wed 17 July: Singha All-Stars, Bangkok
Sun 21 July: Malaysia XI, Kuala Lumpur
Thu 25 July: BNI Indonesia All-Stars, Jakarta
There are few Chelsea fans who will be unhappy with Mourinho's appointment. The former Porto and Inter Milan manager won two League titles, two League Cups, and FA Cup and a Community Shield during his first spell at Stamford Bridge.
And a number of Chelsea players, including those Mourinho has never managed, had voiced their approval before his appointment. They believe the club can win the title next season by capitalising on Manchester United losing Sir Alex Ferguson to retirement and City being without Roberto Mancini after the Italian's sacking.
Brazil defender David Luiz said: 'I want to win titles at Chelsea and I want to have that feeling like others here at the end of the season when you take the trophy.
'Every year we have a chance because if you are a big club you have to think you can win everything. But next season I am confident, not just because of our squad but also because both United and City have had big losses.
Endorsement: David Luiz (left) admitted he would be glad to see Mourinho at Chelsea
Me too, boss! Demba Ba (right) was also warm to the idea of playing under Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO IN HIS OWN WORDS
Here, Sportsmail looks at some of Mourinho's memorable comments from his first spell as Chelsea boss.
'Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one' - at his unveiling in 2004.
'If Roman Abramovich helped me out in training we would be bottom of the league and if I had to work in his world of big business, we would be bankrupt!' - on his relationship with the Chelsea owner.
'The dog is fine in Portugal - that big threat is away - you don't have to worry about crime any more' - after the police questioned him over whether his dog had a pet passport.
'Some clubs are treated as devils, some are treated as angels. I don't think we are so ugly that we should be seen as the devil and I don't think Arsene Wenger and David Dein are so beautiful that they should be viewed as angels' - taunting Arsenal.
'Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. He is someone who likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to look into the homes of other people and see what is happening. Wenger must be one of them - and it is a sickness' - taunting Wenger.
'I don't regret it. The only thing I have to understand is I'm in England, so maybe even when I think I am not wrong, I have to adapt to your country and I have to respect that. I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans and what I did, the sign of silence - 'shut your mouth' - was not for them, it was for the English press' -Mourinho defends putting a finger to his lips during the 2005 Carling Cup final against Liverpool, an action which resulted in him being sent to the stands.
'Look at my haircut. I am ready for the war' -unveiling a short crop.
'I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent. I felt it didn't interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people and maybe it interfered with the result. You should ask the linesman why he gave a goal. Because, to give a goal, the ball must be 100 per cent in and he must be 100 per cent sure that the ball is in' -Mourinho questions the validity of Liverpool forward Luis Garcia's goal which puts Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-finals in May 2005.
'Barcelona are a great club. But in 200 years of history they have won the European Cup only once. I have been managing for a few years and I have already won the same amount' -Barcelona went on to win the Champions League that season (2006) and in two further years (2009 and 2011)
'When I saw Frank Rijkaard (then Barcelona coach) entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it. When Didier Drogba was sent off (after half-time) I wasn't surprised' - on losing to Barcelona in 2006. He was later given a touchline ban by UEFA.
'We have played against them four matches in two seasons. (When it was) 11 against 11 they never beat us. That is the reality' - After 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp in 2006 which sent Barca through to the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
'No eggs, no omelette. And it depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket, you have eggs class one, class two, class three. Some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem' - a parting shot at Abramovich, coming ahead of his final match in charge, for the Russian's failure to buy quality players to help his injury-hit squad.
'Both were great coaches and you have to think that the new man doesn’t do the same job. In our minds it’s a good thing.’
Striker Demba Ba agrees. 'We’re pleased about the Europa League and Champions League spot, but we could have done better in the Premier League.
'And the disappointment of this means we’re going to work very hard and get ready for the new season.
'With or without Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini, United and City still have great players but we’re confident in what we can do next season.'
Young England defender Ryan Bertrand added: 'This is what we've been waiting for! Welcome back Mourinho. Excited for the new season already.'
The 50-year-old had already confirmed he will take charge at Chelsea this week.
'I'm going to London on Monday and at the end of the week I will be the manager of Chelsea,' he said to leading Spanish TV football show Punto Pelota. 'I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that.
'Life is beautiful and short and you must look for what you think is best for you.'
But never have the words ‘the bitter end’ been more apt as Mourinho took charge of his last game at Real on Saturday before returning to Stamford Bridge.
He left the Bernabeu on Saturday night without saying goodbye to Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Iker Casillas, having suggested all three had deliberately ruled themselves out of his last game in charge.
And as if to underline the divisions, Alvaro Arbeloa — one of the players who had stayed loyal to Mourinho in what had become a dressing-room war against the coach — claimed the manager had been betrayed by his players.
Mourinho had left as many as 10 first-team players out of his final squad for Saturday’s visit of Osasuna, but claimed that, while many were injured and had been ruled out by the club’s medical staff, Ronaldo, Casillas and Pepe had all taken it upon themselves to miss the last game.
He told Spanish television channelIntereconomia: ‘The players not in the team had either been declared injured by club doctors, or have declared themselves injured. Pepe, Cristiano and Casillas all ruled themselves out with back pain. They did not train all week and they did not train very well last week either.’
The disintegration of player-coach relations after Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final exit against Borussia Dortmund intensified after the charade of the Spanish Cup final, which Real lost with both Mourinho and Ronaldo sent off. It had reached such levels that it seems the star players wanted no part in their coach’s send-off.
The manager who built winning teams at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Porto on the foundation of unbreakable dressing-room unity was unable to do the same at Real Madrid. Straight after Saturday’s 4-2 win, Arbeloa suggested that Mourinho was let down by selfish players.
The Spain defender said: ‘Mourinho gave everything for the club, always putting it first and sometimes his image was affected by that. I am not sure everyone else, players included, can say the same.
‘A lot of us worried that we might look bad in the media. We worried about having a good public image and we spoke always for our own benefit. There is a good group of players here and we all have a good relationship but perhaps we lacked maturity at times.’
The split between Mourinho and his players was never as clear as in the tunnel before the final home game of the season as he waited until the last moment possible to take to the pitch.
Ronaldo was also in the tunnel waiting to be awarded a post-season prize and not a word was exchanged between the pair.
Pepe and Casillas appeared at the top of the stairs that lead to the dressing room, ready to watch the game from the private players’ boxes high up in the Bernabeu.
They looked down on Ronaldo. He looked at Mourinho, who looked out on to the pitch, avoiding eye contact with his three errant players.
It was an image to sum up a tempestuous last season in charge when, for the first time in his career, the Special One had lost the dressing room.
‘We have to learn for next season,’ said Arbeloa. ‘With the new coach, we have to be united with everyone helping each other.
‘This coach (Mourinho) has won wherever he has gone and it is strange that here, where he had the best squad he has ever had, is where he has won the least.’
Waiting game: Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo stood at opposite ends of the tunnel before Madrid's game
TWITTER REACTION
Kevin Bridges @kevinbridges86: 'Jose Mourinho, Paolo Di Canio, Steve Clarke - There's a fair few characters in the Premiership now... Loose cannons!'
John O'Farrell @mrjohnofarrell: 'Have Chelsea sacked Mourinho yet?'
Alec Stewart @StewieCricket: 'Special announcement. The Special One returns to Chelsea. A Special welcome home. #josemourinho'
Lord Sugar @Lord_Sugar: 'Wow what a shock Jose Mourinho been appointed as the new manager of Chelsea.Wonder what odds bookies would give him not lasting the season'
Josh Goodall @joshuagoodall: 'Joseeeeeeeeee Mouuuurinho #CFC #shedlower'
The divisions in the dressing room were, as ever, replicated in the stands of the Bernabeu.
Supporters behind one goal sung his name throughout the 4-2 win but the songs were drowned out by jeers from the remaining three sides of the stadium.
There were ‘Thanks for everything’ signs held aloft but others read, ‘Thanks for nothing’ and ‘Don’t ever come back’.
The most vocal of the pro-Mourinho supporters hung a ‘Mourinho we love you’ banner from the stand behind the south goal.
The outgoing coach came back out to those supporters after the end of the game to have pictures taken with several who had made their way on to the pitch.
The game itself saw Mourinho clock up his 128th win in his 178th game in charge. It also meant the club had gone the entire season without losing at home — save the cup final when they had occupied the away dressing room. Despite the victory there was little sign of celebrations.
Mixed emotions: Some Madrid fans thanked Mourinho (above) but some said they would 'see him never'
Me again: Mourinho will reunite with Roman Abramovich (right). The pair were pictured back in 2004
Special One: Mourinho is the fans' choice to succeed Rafa Benitez at Stamford Bridge
Another who said an unhappy goodbye was Gonzalo Higuain. He did not celebrate after scoring the game’s opener and confirmed after the match that he would not play for Real again: ‘It’s a decision I have taken calmly over time. I have been here seven years, they try to sell me every pre-season and I need to go somewhere I am truly wanted.’
Arsenal will have taken note of the confirmation of his departure, as well as his insistence that a switch to Juventus had not been finalised.
Luka Modric and Arbeloa both had farewell photographs taken with Mourinho and his coaching staff. And when Michael Essien, on loan from Chelsea, scored Madrid’s second goal, he ran to embrace the coach on the touchline.
Rare sight: Mourinho enjoyed a good relationship with Michael Essien, who is likely to return to Chelsea
Essien expects to go back to Chelsea with Mourinho, while, at Madrid, a new era begins as the club confirm Florentino Perez will continue as president for the next four years.
His first business will be to try to persuade Ronaldo to sign a contract extension but he may be fighting a losing battle with Manchester United confident they can lure the forward back to Old Trafford, making him a spectacular signing for new manager David Moyes.
Perez met the player’s agent Jorge Mendes last week — and a two-year extension on Ronaldo’s current deal that runs until 2016 is on the table which would see him clear £13.5million a year after tax has been paid by the club.
On the move: Ronaldo could follow his boss out of the Spanish capital as Manchester United eye a reunion
There is hope at the Bernabeu that with the increased offer and Mourinho’s departure Ronaldo is more likely to stay but the Portugal star is aware that he would be adored by United fans if he returns in contrast to the mixed reception he has received from Real supporters
Perez knows the player’s decision will impact on just how hard he must push to bring in Gareth Bale for £80m this year, as well as influencing whether a £40m bid for Luis Suarez goes ahead.
MOURINHO'S FIRST INTERVIEW - THE FULL TRANSCRIPT
Welcome back, how are you?
'I’m very happy. I had to prepare myself not to be too emotional for my arrival at the club but obviously I’m very happy.'
How big a decision was it for you? It's not common for managers to go back...
'It was an easy decision, I met the boss, the owner, and I think within five minutes after some short and pragmatic questions we decided straight away. I asked the boss do you want me back, and the boss asked me do you want to come back, and in a couple of minutes the decision was made.'
It worked out well for both parties; while you left you did what you wanted to do, and Chelsea have continued to do things and build on what you did…
'It was a difficult moment, September 2007, because I love it here and I have a big connection with the club, and also for the club it wasn’t easy. But if you analyse it in a cool way, emotions apart, it was fantastic, because my career after that, I had everything I was aiming for in my career. I wanted to win the grand slam, to win in England, Spain and Italy. I did it, I got all the trophies in three countries. I got my second Champions League too.
'I enjoy being in different countries, in different football cultures, and I think it’s important for my evolution as a manager and a football coach, and Chelsea Football Club got important trophies after that and had important moments in the history of the club. Now we are back together and we are getting together at a great moment for us both, so I think we are ready to marry again and be happy and successful.'
What's the plan now?
'The plan is always the same, evolution and to establish the club at the highest possible level. I left Chelsea in 2007, since then I’ve spoken about the club many times, especially in my privacy. I remember the day we went to the United States in 2004 pre-season.
'We had open training sessions with only a couple of kids watching the sessions, nobody was following the team. It was the beginning of Roman and his second season I suppose was the beginning of Chelsea. After that Chelsea started winning the Premier League, for the first time and then the second time, and after that when we went back to the United States we found a completely different situation around the club.
'I can imagine now after especially the Champions League, that was the highest point of the club’s history. This is now a bigger club, the social mass around the club is much bigger.
'I am the same, physically the same, but every day you have to think about yourself and about evolution. I have the same nature but I’m much more mature with a different approach to things, I’m more ready to be in a club and stay for a long time.'
Normally you haven't spent a lot more than about three years with a club so you are saying this is longer-term building?
'I hope so, when you look at the profile of the Chelsea squad I think it’s what they need at this time. If you look from my time, there are around four or five boys and these are the older ones. It’s very important for this football club and very important for the balance of the squad, but it’s a young squad with a lot of talent and I think they need stability to reach a high point of their evolution and for their careers.
'They need stability, stability I hope I can give them and between me, the owner and of course the club, we have no doubts about what we want to do and the approach we want to have. I’m very confident I can help the squad and I can help the boys to do better.
'I think of myself not only as a Chelsea manager, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve arrived at a club that I already love. Of course, I go to a club, I love the club and I wear the shirt with the crest and I give everything I have to do it, but this is the first time where I love it already. To be at the same time a Chelsea fan and a Chelsea manager is a new feeling for me and it’s a fantastic feeling.'
You have a head start with the fans as you are already popular...
'I know I am [popular with Chelsea fans] and I know at this football club there is a culture for the fans to be loyal to somebody who gave. When I watch a Chelsea match on TV and I see, for example, a banner which says Didier Drogba, that’s fantastic, and it makes Chelsea a special club.
'I know they have a special feeling for me. I played against Chelsea with Inter and it was difficult because I was feeling it wasn’t a normal situation for me, and I think the people in the stands felt the same as me, so I belong to them and they belong to me.
'I think they know my nature, and they know I’m not coming here to sleep on what I did in the past and be comfortable just because we have a great feeling and we have a great relation, and probably the first day I put my foot in Stamford Bridge again they will sing my name, I’m not that kind of person and professional.
'I’m very demanding of myself, I need of course their support, but I want to start from ground zero, I need to work hard again and build a different team from the team I built in the past, and I want to give everything I can to the club, to the owner and to the fans, forgetting a little bit that I was champion here and I want to have that pressure on myself like it is the first time I am here and I have to work hard and to make sure they have a reason to be happy with me.'
In the past six years you won the treble with Inter, had one incredible season in the league with Real. You say you are more mature now, how do you assess your development since you’ve been away from us?
'Italy was something I wanted very, very much to do. Italian football is for sure the most tactical one, very difficult, especially if you are a team that wants to win, competing against teams that don't want to lose. It was a big challenge for me. I arrived in a club where there was an atmosphere of frustration because they couldn’t succeed in the Champions League and we got that trophy and for the first time in Italian football the treble.
'It helps me a lot to be more cultural. After Portugal and England I went to the football with a different perspective. It was a big challenge for me, I had to challenge myself a lot and to study a lot. I think I became a better manager living in Inter. I went to Madrid because I wanted to try to do the Grand Slam, the three most important championships in the world, and also because twice I had the chance to go to Real before, and I never did it because I decided to stay at Chelsea.
'The last one was the day after we won the FA Cup final at Wembley, and I thought “no way, I am going to stay”. That was the third time, I wanted to go, I wanted another culture and another club with a worldwide dimension in terms of social approach and it was a fantastic experience for me. I think it was really important to get it in this period where I call it the last step of my formation as a manager. It was the last step of my formation. I just turned now to 50 and just finished my lap around European football.
'This experience in Madrid was fantastic because culturally it was hard, it was difficult. Portuguese and Spanish, and Spanish and Portuguese, and Real Madrid, a special club in a season where they have elections for the presidency, lots of politics around. Last year we beat the record and got 100 points and 121 goals. This season everybody was focused on the Champions League.
'We reached the semi-finals and we all know, especially in this club, that semi-finals are a critical moment where you need that click to do it. In our club the semi-final we lost on penalties against Liverpool. The semi-final we lost with Guus Hiddink against Barcelona.
'You have the semi-final that took us to the final when we won with Roberto, and we know in the Champions League semi-final you need that click. We didn’t have that click and couldn’t get the 10th European Cup that was an ambition for the club, but it was a fantastic experience for me and I think I arrived in my club, in my Chelsea, in the best moment of my career, of my stability of a manager, my stability as a person, always with my incredible family always supporting me and I think I arrived in my best moment ready to give everything I have to try to make the club happy.'
Seems like you lost your smile in Madrid, but you’re happier now?
'I’m not happy, I am very happy. As I was saying I was preparing myself in the last couple of days to control emotions, to come here in a cool way but really emotional.
'I try to hide it a little bit but I am so happy and so proud because I think when you return to a place it is for some reason, not just because you have good results in the past or because the fans like you very much, it’s also because as a human point of view you left something here.
'People know the person I am, I kept a fantastic relation with the owner and the club, and it’s something that makes me proud to be back. Not just because of the professional I am, I believe so because of the person I am.'
Top three all under new management next season, very exciting time…
'I think the Premier League is the Premier League. This season in terms of the Champions League, which is normally a thermometer of world football, I think English football was too early outside the competition. People were speaking about the level of the Premier League moving down comparing it with other countries, but I don't believe so much on that.
'Sometimes things happen and there are no really thorough reasons. I still think the Premier League is a fantastic competition and I don't know but I can believe there will be five or six teams very strong. In my time here in 2004 it was more about us, Man United and Arsenal, and after that a gap to the other teams.
'In this moment I think you can put five or six teams in the same plan, aiming to reach at the start, the Champions League spots which is very difficult at the time, with more ambition to win the Premier League again, and so the competition will be fantastic. I hope I can beat the competition.'
Will it be the priority?
'We have to improve the team, and when I say improve the team people are already thinking about how many millions Chelsea are going to spend, and when I say improve the team I am saying improving by work.
'My work has to improve players and improve the team. If I don't do that I am not happy with myself. If after that we can improve the team by buying a couple of players it is fantastic but I have to improve the team and the players with my work. That’s a priority, improve. In the last two years we were struggling in the Premier League.
'If you didn’t win the Champions League you would be out of the Champions League this year. This year we had to fight until the last match to qualify. We have to try of course to improve, but the priority in a club that reached the level is exactly that – improve individually, improve collectively and improve the structure of the club around the football team, and try to win the next match.
'Which one is the next match? The Premier League? Let’s go for the Premier League. If the next match is the FA Cup, let’s go for the FA Cup. It is difficult for me to say something is the priority. The priority is to work hard, work professionally and make the team better.'
How are you thinking about the style of the side right now?
'First of all I need to work with them, of course I like, and I like the profile, I like the fact we have three, four or five players from the beginning of the winning Chelsea, and I think they have to be always a part of the Chelsea soul, so I’m pleased we kept some of these boys.
'The profile of the younger players with long-term space for improvement and development, I like very much that kind of profile. I’ve come with a four-year contract so if I read the situation with the immediate age of Hazard, Oscar, Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me. Together we can improve and make a better team than we have now.'
Can you tell us exactly what the staff you are bring with you are going to do?
'Rui as we know is my methodology right arm, the guy that understands best my information and the way I work. He’s been with me since the beginning, the same as Silvino. [Jose] Morais started working with me at Inter, at the time Andre [Villas-Boas] went to coach in Portugal.
'Morais does the same work Andre was doing, with scouting and analysing, working hand in hand with James Melbourne. He’s been a friend for a long time and has been coaching in many countries, in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Tunisia, Sweden, Morocco. He’s a guy with fantastic experience and he’s working in that area.
'From the previous staff I get Christophe [Lollichon], Steve [Holland] and Chris Jones. They are people who have been here a long time and are very much trusted internally, and I’m happy to have them in my staff. From this moment they become only one staff, which is Chelsea staff, and we are going to work together and hard to try to give what everybody is waiting for.'
Presumably you need a holiday?
'I am sorry we don’t start training tomorrow. I say to the players during the season when sometimes they look tired, victories make miracles. When you win, win, win, you are never tired. In my case, it’s not about winning, it’s about moving, moving to a place I love and happiness.
'I’m so happy to be back; the players need a holiday, I don’t, I’m waiting for them and when we start they will find somebody with great motivation, in spite of my white hair, which I didn’t have in 2004.'
Asia, then America and then the Super Cup. You against Pep Guardiola, that's a good start...
'It’s not Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, it’s Chelsea and Bayern Munich. Mourinho did nothing to play this match, and Guardiola did nothing to play this match. The players did it, and the previous managers did it, so I will be in that match just by trying to help my club and my players win the trophy, nothing else.
'It’s not going to be crucial to our work or our season. We have to go to pre-season, work hard in pre-season. We have club commitments, that’s also important, and socially it’s important to go to areas such as Asia and the States, and give what the club need us to give, but we have to work hard.'
Nine years ago when we interviewed you in our Chelsea TV studio, you looked in the camera and you said I can promise you quality, work and love and passion to bring success to the club. Would that be the same message you give today?
'It is exactly the same message but now I can say I am one of you and that makes a little bit of a difference, I have never had that in football, I had in my career two great passions Inter and Chelsea and Chelsea is more than important for me. It was very, very hard to play against Chelsea and I did it only twice which was not so bad so now I promise exactly the same things I promised in 2004, with this difference which is I’m one of you.'
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