Jose Mourinho has given his first press conference since returning to manage Chelsea, after a 6 year sojourn from the club. Mourinho, 50, who won 2 Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and 2 League Cups during his first spell at Chelsea, has said that he has come back as a better manager.

This is what he had to say after being asked whether he is still the ‘Special One’: “I’m the happy one. It feels like yesterday that I was here, but it was nine years ago. A lot has happened in my professional life, but I am the same person, I have the same passions, the same heart. I would describe myself as a very happy person. It's the first time I've arrived at a club where I've already loved the club. At others I had to build an emotional relationship, this time I am arriving at a club and I love it already.”

He was then asked whether he would win more trophies this time around, namely the Champions League: “Of course I hope that the players, as a club, can help us win more. The mentality I want to bring in is that no player is bigger than the club. I would love to win the Champions League. It’s the one that Roman has always wanted, and Di Matteo did it a couple of years ago. I want to be next.”



When asked about the state of the Premier League and its managers, Mourinho said that he “will be looking forward to playing against Andre (Villas-Boas), Steve (Clarke) and Brendan (Rodgers). I am sad that I will go to Old Trafford and Sir Alex (Ferguson) will not be there. Moyes is a top manager though, and he will do fine. Pellegrini is a man I have come across in Spain, and he is a good manager.”

Finally, Mourinho was asked about his plans for the squad, and whether the ‘Old Guard’ would be staying. “I feel we have a very strong squad, and we can do well without spending. The older players who were here before, I don’t know. It’s great they are still here playing at the top. The others? Well I need to meet them first.”

Jose Mourinho’s first controversial move as manager of Chelsea has been to ask Adidas and Roman Abramovich for a kit change. The Portuguese manager is said to have not liked the current one. Chelsea have also announced that their kits will no longer be sponsored by Samsung, after being sponsors since 2008. Energy suppliers Gazprom and Petronas have agreed to sponsor the home and away shirts respectively, while Pizza Express while sponsor the third kit.

lovely update with the kits. I like the pizza express ones

Lots of detail going into this. Keep it up

Jason: Cheers mate, hope you like them all

P-kiddy: Cheers mate, I will do

Verratti playing for PSG last season

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has dived into the transfer market to secure three players all for a total of £35.5 million. Marco Verratti, the Italian central midfielder, joins for £15.5 million from French giants Paris Saint-Germain. The deal currently stands as the biggest done so far this window, but it still stands as a coup. Many pundits believe that Verratti has what it takes to be one of the world’s best, with many touting him as the new Andres Iniesta. After joining PSG for £9 million last summer from Italian Serie B club Pescara, Verratti impressed in the middle of the park, as PSG went on to win the Ligue 1 title.


Doria in action for Brazil Under 20’s earlier this summer

The next man to join is 18 year-old Brazilian Doria. The centre-back, widely regarded as one of the hottest prospects in his homeland, joined for £10 million from Brasileirao side Botafogo. The youngster has been a mainstay in the Botafogo side ever since he made his debut as a 16 year-old, and with one Brazil cap to his name already, he is hoping for a big break in Europe before playing in next years FIFA World Cup.


George Thorne at Old Trafford last season

Finally, England under-21 midfielder George Thorne joins Chelsea from fellow Premier League side West Brom for £10 million as well. Steve Clarke, the West Brom manager, is said to have recommended the midfielder to his long-time friend Mourinho, with a deal being struck between the two of them. After making his debut as 17 year-old in the Championship, Thorne’s opportunities have been limited, but has now been given the chance to develop at Chelsea.

Mourinho is said to still be in the market for players as he looks to make his squad younger. At the moment, Michael Essien, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres are looking to be heading the other way after being told they had no future at the club. This will see the club make a significant loss if Torres leaves, as he joined for a whopping £50 million in January 2011, and has struggled to recreate the form that he had while at Liverpool. Essien’s career has become injury-plagued over recent years, and with players like Thorne and Verratti coming in, he would be sure no game time.

Some nice signings! Verratti I can say is absolute class and Doria is very good too. I've never had the courage to sign Thorne but I'm keen to see how he works out for you. Nice update

P-KIDDY: Cheers mate, never signed Thorne before either, but hopefully he will turn out nicely

Chelsea decided that they would play almost all of their 16 pre-season friendlies at home. Mourinho was criticised by Chelsea fans for not preparing their players well enough, as Chelsea suited up to face teams that play in Sunday League matches. However, with a whopping 105 goals scored and only 1 conceded, people will be wondering whether it was Mourinho’s attempt at trying to raise morale in the Chelsea camp. It certainly worked, and even some of Chelsea’s most promising developing stars found the net on numerous occasions, let alone saw themselves lining up in blue.




14x: Juan Mata
13x: Eden Hazard
10x: Own goals
7x: John Obi Mikel
6x: Charly Musonda
5x: Lewis Baker, Cesar Azpilicueta
4x: Frank Lampard, Ryan Bertrand, Oscar
3x: Branislav Ivanovic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, John Terry, Jeremie Boga
2x: Andreas Christensen, Kenneth Omeruo, Michael Essien, Willian, David Luiz, Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill
1x: Ola Aina, Billy Clifford, Ramires, Nathan Ake, Marco van Ginkel

its a goal bananza!

kdavva: Cheers mate, welcome to the site

What a pre season, goals everywhere, hopefully you can carry on this form into the season!

Switch: Cheers mate, hopefully I will

Lucas Romero in action for Velez Sarsfield

Chelsea have signed three more youngsters to bolster their squad ahead of the new season. First to join is Lucas Romero, the 18 year-old Argentinian, for £7 million from Velez Sarsfield. The defensive-midfielder is regarded as a top prospect in South America, and turned down a move to Real Madrid in favour of a move to Mourinho’s Chelsea. He is expected to head straight back to Argentina, where he will play for Velez until the end of the season.


Perreyra controlling the ball for Udinese

Next to join is Roberto Perreyra, another Argentinian who joins from Italian Serie A side Udinese. Costing around £9 million, the midfielder is expected to act as a backup to Oscar and Lampard, while he can fill in slightly higher up the pitch. Perreyra, who has never been capped by Argentina, joined Udinese from River Plate in 2010, and played every game last year in a season in which Udinese finished 5th.


Balanta playing for River Plate

Finally, 20 year-old Colombian defender Eder Alvarez Balanta has joined Chelsea for £12 million. The centre-back, who an cover at left-back, joins a growing group of defenders at Chelsea. Balanta picked up his first Colombia cap just last-week and, although he only played 12 time for River Plate, he is regarded as a top candidate to lead the Colombian line should they make the FIFA World Cup next year.

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Cech, Azpilicueta, Cole, Terry, Doria, Luiz, Verratti, Lampard, Hazard, Oscar, Mata

Goals: Hazard (12, 39), Mata (79)

MOTM: Hazard


Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Cech, Terry, Luiz, Doria, Cole, Azpilicueta, Lampard, Verratti, Perreyra, Hazard, Mata

Goals: Perreyra (25), Mata (33, 89)

MOTM: Mata


Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Cech, Terry, Luiz, Ivanovic, Ramires, Cole, Lampard, Verratti, Perreyra, Hazard, Mata

Goals: Lampard (37), Ramires (68), Hazard (71)

MOTM: Ramires


Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Cech, Luiz, Balanta, Terry, Azpilicueta, Cole, Verratti, Lampard, Hazard, Perreyra, Mata

Goals: Azpilicueta (87), Hazard (102)

MOTM: Hazard


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