Chelsea’s most succesful period can be defined by a handful of players and managers who always knew how to come out on top.
Under the leadership of Jose Mourinho in charge, the Blues won three Premier League titles, as well as a host of domestic cups to establish themselves as a dominant force in English football.
The Portuguese coach had a few players he trusted with his life, with one of those being the club’s all-time top goalscorer, Frank Lampard.
The impact the boss had on him was so profound that Lampard was left in tears when Mourinho was sacked for the first time at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho’s ‘eye-opening’ approach at Chelsea which wowed Frank Lampard
While the Blues had just qualified to compete in the Champions League before ‘The Special One’ took over, any admirations of winning the Premier League seemed a distant dream.
The new manager changed that mindset though, with Lampard claiming it was an instant shift in mindset after the confidence Mourinho spoke with while on the pre-season tour.
He told The Telegraph: “I recall the confidence with which José spoke from day one of pre-season. We went to Seattle and he had a meeting where he laid out what we needed to do to be champions.
“We’d come second the year before, so we weren’t a million miles away but he came in then and mapped out we’d be champions at that point, which on day one of pre-season was eye-opening for us all.
“And then he would hold meetings and talk about blocks of games and predict the results to a really fine detail, and we generally delivered on what he said. That was all new to us. I’d certainly never experienced a manager coming in with that confidence to be able to predict or push us just because the manager said so.
“But it absolutely worked because it gave us the responsibility to match his expectations. That was probably the beauty of the mind games he would play with us.”
Mourinho’s first season in charge of the club delivered a Premier League title, in a campaign that boasts a record that looks impossible to break right now.
The Blues conceded just 15 goals throughout the 38 game campaign, leaving them clearly one of the best sides to ever compete in the top flight.
Mourinho’s remarkable impact on other Chelsea players
A number of other former Chelsea players were huge fans of the Portuguese coach, some to the extent that they did not want to remain at the club after he left.
Tal Ben-Haim admitted he would have never joined if he knew Mourinho was going to be sacked, with it becoming very clear he did not get in with Avram Grant.
John Obi Mikel frequently talks highly of his former, with him often citing him as the benchmark when discussing the work of current boss Enzo Maresca.
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