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THE SPECIAL RETURN
FINALLY, AFTER WEEKS OF INTENSE SPECULATION,
CHELSEA HAVE RE VEALED THAT JOSÉ MOURINHO
WILL RETURN TO MANAGE THE CLUB.
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LONDON, UK -- It was nearly ten years ago that Jose Mourinho dubbed himself "The Special One" when he was introduced as Chelsea's manager in 2004. Well, there was some deja vu in London today, as Mourinho was introduced as Chelsea's manager for the second time in his career. Despite rumors that Mourinho would not make his way back to West London because of his now defunct contract with Real Madrid, the 50 year old manager was all smiles when he was presented at Chelsea's press conference.
"I'm glad to be back" began Mourinho. "I've always loved England and I've always loved Chelsea and Chelsea and the fans have loved me. Coming back here was a no-brainer for me."
After Rafa Benitez took the reins of Chelsea following the firing of Roberto Di Matteo in November and proceeded to win the UEFA Europa League, months of speculation pointed towards Mourinho as the club's next manager. With virtually every player on the team making a public pitch to bring Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge, Roman Abramovich was certainly compelled to give The Special One a second stint with the Blues.
When Mourinho first took the managerial spot in 2004, he brought Chelsea the most successful period in the club's history. During his tenure from 2004-2007, Mourinho won two Premier League titles, two English League Cup titles, and an FA Cup title. Since Mourinho's departure in 2007, he has gone on to manage two of Europe's most prestigious clubs with tremendous success. After a brief hiatus, Mourinho took the job at Inter Milan, where he would go on to win two Serie A trophies, a Coppa Italia, but most importantly, brought home a Champions League title in 2010.
After only two seasons with Inter, Mourinho moved onto Real Madrid in Madrid's attempt to overtake Barcelona. Although Mourinho won La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Los Blancos, Madrd were overshadowed by their arch rival, as Barcelona and Pep Guardiola won the Champions League and Club World Cup while Mourinho was at the Bernabeu.
Now, after Chelsea have had success in Europe, winning the Champions League and Europa League in the past two seasons, Mourinho will be looking to add to his legacy at the Bridge. Abramovich will surely be backing Mourinho financially as The Special One will be looking to make a splash when the transfer window opens this summer. If Mourinho is given virtually unlimited funds to work with this summer, expect Chelsea to make a handful of bold moves to bolster their aging squad as they look to remain one of Europe's top clubs.