Jose Mourinho burst onto the scene at Chelsea in 2004 with the aim of winning everything and not giving a moment’s thought to who he offended along the way. Here’s some of the most memorable moments of the special one’s time in the Premier League ahead of his match against his old club, as Spurs take on the Blues at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
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“I’m a special one”
If anyone didn’t know who Mourinho was, he made sure they did after his first news conference. The charismatic Portuguese showed what he was about from his first day on the job and from that moment on has been absolute box office.
He said: “We have top players, I’m sorry I’m a bit arrogant, we have a top manager.” He continued: “I’m European champion, so I’m not one of the bottle, I think I’m a special one.”
Rivalry with Arsene Wenger
While Mourinho has had a number of rivalries with fellow Premier League sides and managers over the years, his most notorious feud is with Arsene Wenger. In both spells in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, he was constantly in arguments and disagreements with his Arsenal counterpart and these would often overshadow what was actually happening on the pitch.
Specialist in failure
During his first spell at the Blues, Mourinho branded Wenger a ‘voyeur’ and took things to the next level when he returned to the club in 2013, where before a match in 2014, he called Wenger a ‘specialist in failure’. Chelsea won the game 6-0, which equalled the biggest defeat the Frenchman suffered during his time in charge of the north London club.
Handbags
Things got physical the next season and during a confrontation between the pair, Wenger shoved Mourinho which caused the Portuguese to rant in his post-match interview. He had the last laugh though, as his side ran out 2-0 winners and went on to lift the Premier League title.
Denying Liverpool the league title
Mourinho took his outfit to Anfield to play a Liverpool team who knew they were four victories away from a first league title since 1990.
However, he masterminded a defensive masterclass as his side minimalised the Reds and guided Chelsea to a 2-0 victory. The game will always be known for that Steven Gerrard slip which led to Demba Ba’s opener, but perhaps more striking was Jose’s reaction to his team’s second goal.
As the goal went in, in typical Mourinho style, he surged down the touchline towards the Chelsea fans, punching the badge on his chest. At full time, he went down the tunnel shouting ‘they wanted the clowns’.
United respect press conference
After losing 3-0 to Spurs, the United manager stormed into his post-match press conference to get a few things off his chest.
When asked whether he thought the United fans would be happy with the manner of his side’s defeat, Mourinho replied with one of the biggest outbursts in Premier League history. Holding up three fingers, Mourinho replied: “3-0, 3-0. Do you know what this is? 3-0. But it also means three Premierships and I won more Premierships alone than the other 19 managers together. So respect man, respect, respect, respect.”
After the extraordinary outburst, he then stormed out of the room without another word.
Not a happy return to the Bridge
Mourinho endured a torrid return to Stamford Bridge, with Antonio Conte’s Chelsea comprehensively winning 4-0.
Mourinho’s frustrations were evident at the final whistle as he remonstrated with Conte about his behaviour on the touchline, feeling the Italian had ‘humiliated’ him and his team with his hysterical celebrations.
It was reported that he angrily said to his rival at the final whistle: “You don’t celebrate like that at 4-0, you can do it at 1-0, otherwise it’s humiliating for us.”
Match-fixing
The feud between the pair continued after Manchester United’s win over Derby in the FA Cup, where Jose declared he would never be banned for match-fixing – referring to Conte’s suspension for match-fixing in 2012.
Mourinho said: “What never happened to me – and will never happen – is to be suspended for match-fixing. That never happened to me and will never happen.”
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