Jose Mourinho coached some of the true Chelsea greats across his two spells as the club’s manager, and one individual won him over straight away with a stunning debut performance.
If you look at Chelsea’s history, Jose Mourinho is their outstanding manager because he won eight major trophies at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese coach was successful in West London between 2004 and 2007 before returning for a second stint between 2013 and 2015.
Spell Matches Wins Draws Losses
First spell 185 124 38 23
Second spell 136 80 27 29
Jose Mourinho’s two spells as Chelsea manager
Unsurprisingly, he received a great reception at the Bridge last month when he returned as Benfica’s manager in the Champions League.
Mourinho’s verdict of the current Chelsea is that they are now beginning to get back on track under Enzo Maresca.
Jose Mourinho walks to the dugout before Burnley against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Jose Mourinho was in awe of Cesc Fabregas after Chelsea debut
In the 2014-15 season, Mourinho’s Chelsea stormed to the Premier League title, losing just three times. It all started with a 3-1 away victory at Turf Moor against Burnley, which will always be remembered because of the masterclass from Cesc Fabregas.
On 18 August 2014, Fabregas delivered a stunning display on his competitive debut for Chelsea. He created two assists in the contest, including a perfectly weighted pass to set up Andre Schurrle’s goal.
At the time, Mourinho admitted he was absolutely delighted with the Spanish midfielder, whose arrival from Barcelona turned out to be a masterclass.
Speaking after Chelsea’s win against Burnley in 2024, Mourinho said via BBC Sport: “I agree completely with Cesc as man of the match. He controlled the tempo of the game and was responsible for the best phase of our play…
“He makes the right decisions, the right intensity of the game and he brings other people in the right direction. I am really happy with him.”
Touches Assists Key passes Passes Passing accuracy Crosses Match rating
104 2 3 89 87.6% 3 8.73
Cesc Fabregas stats from Burnley 1-3 Chelsea on 19 August 2014 via WhoScored
In total, Fabregas made 67 appearances under Mourinho during their time together at Chelsea, scoring six goals and creating 27 assists.
Fabregas, who’s nominated for the Premier League Hall of Fame, was particularly strong in England with the Blues.
After joining Chelsea at the age of 27, he gave them his prime years when he was experienced and could dictate football matches. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s gone into management now as the Como head coach.
Cesc Fabregas playing for Chelsea against Burnley in the Premier League.
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Cesc Fabregas was a midfield great of his generation
Fabregas is one of the greatest central midfielders of the 21st century, delivering for some of the biggest clubs in Europe over a stellar career.
Club Appearances Goals Assists
Arsenal 303 57 95
Chelsea 198 22 57
Barcelona 151 42 50
Monaco 68 4 9
Como 17 0 2
Cesc Fabregas’ senior club career
In addition, he earned 110 caps for Spain, winning three major international trophies.
Blues midfielder Enzo Fernandez was once compared to Fabregas, but he’s got miles and miles to go before he’s in the same bracket as the former Chelsea ace.