A bodyguard by his side, he stared down at two teams striving for what he had already got, a place in the final in Gelsenkirchen three weeks from now.
He said he felt no embarrassment about how his presence in west London on the biggest night of Claudio Ranieri’s career would be interpreted. That is not a concern anymore anyway. This Champions League exit meant Chelsea’s favourite dead man walking just stumbled into the execution chamber.
So Mourinho sat back and watched the perfect outcome unfold. There will be no lingering desire among the Chelsea faithful for Ranieri to stay now. Everyone has done their mourning for The Tinkerman and now, in Mourinho, they will see a man who has already taken a team with a fraction of Chelsea’s resources where they want to go.
“The appointment of Jose Mourinho is all about building on the foundations which we have already established at Chelsea. He represents the new generation of football coaches and we are convinced he can take us to the next level, both in England in Europe. His record of sustained success makes him perfect for what we want to achieve at Chelsea.”
- Peter Kenyon, Chelsea Chief Executive
1963: Born on January 26, and named Jose Mario Santos Mourinho Felix. Son of former Portugal goalkeeper Felix Mourinho.
1992: Takes first high-profile role in football when appointed to work under Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon. Despite his father's status in the game, Mourinho never played professionally and instead focused his sights on a coaching future. He had held low-profile positions at Estrela Amadora and Vitoria Setubal before taking the Sporting job. Served initially as translator to Robson, before becoming increasingly involved in training.
1993: Moves on with Robson when the veteran coach goes to Porto. In three years at Porto, the team win two league titles.
1996: Joins Barcelona in the summer of 1996 as assistant coach to Robson.
1997: Stays on at the Nou Camp after Robson departs, taking up a role under new coach Louis van Gaal.
2000: Takes his first head coaching job at Benfica but lasts just nine games before resigning due to problems in the boardroom.
2001: Appointed coach of Uniao de Leiria and guides the club into the top five of the Portuguese league midway through the 2001-02 season.
2002: Joins Porto in January and the club overcome their poor start to the league season to finish third.
2003: In Mourinho's first full season in charge, Porto win the treble of domestic league and cup, and Uefa Cup.
2004: Having already successfully defended their Portuguese league title, Porto win the Champions League title in Monaco on May 26 with a 3-0 victory over Monaco.
May 31: Chelsea part company with manager Claudio Ranieri, increasing speculation that Mourinho will leave Porto for Stamford Bridge.
June 2: Appointed manager of Chelsea.
