Why Chelsea will be in Premier League champion
The only thing lacking in the Portuguese's first campaign back in charge at Chelsea was the usual glut of trophies.
But if you listened to the former Real Madrid and Inter coach opine on the English Premier League title race last season, his side was never in the running.
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Despite managing a club owned by Roman Abramovich, who is worth a reputed $10 billion, Mourinho decried his team as the "little horse" in the scurry for the finish line.
This season, ominously, his tone is different.
The acquisition of two big names from Spain -- Cesc Fabregas of Barcelona and Diego Coasta from La Liga champion Atletico Madrid -- has taken his squad onto a different plane, while the return of stalwart Didier Drogba adds an unashamedly sentimental sheen.
"We have the squad that we want to have," Mourinho told reporters on the eve of the new season. "It is a squad for tomorrow, for next season and also a squad with big possibilities for the next five or 10 years with so many young people."
Chelsea may have finished third last season, but Mourinho's tactical prowess was still in evidence.
Not only did he propel the Londoners to home and away wins over eventual champion Manchester City, he did the same to Liverpool -- a morale-crushing 2-0 victory at Anfield in late April was the beginning of the end for the Reds' title aspirations.
It was against the lesser lights Chelsea faltered, but with his squad now bolstered by yet more quality, Mourinho's charges won't be as generous this time around.
MANCHESTER CITY
Champion twice in the past three seasons, City might have to play second fiddle to Mourinho and Chelsea in 2014-15.
Last season's triumph was a mass of contradictions -- for large parts of the campaign big-spending City was considered favorite but became ultimately reliant on Liverpool's last-gasp stumble to claim top honors.
Manuel Pellegrini's charges spent just 15 days at the top over the whole campaign; the irony of this season may well see it spend more time at the summit without finishing as top dog.
The club's Chilean coach is a year older and wiser as to the travails of English football however, and it has lavished more cash on fleshing out a squad that already has more depth than an Olympic swimming pool.
City has raided Portugal to prise Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala from Porto, while goalkeeper Willy Caballero and Bruno Zuculini have arrived from Spain.
That quartet's lack of English experience has been offset to a degree by the arrival of two seasoned Premier League campaigners plucked from City's rivals.
Frank Lampard, a three-time title winner, has joined on loan from City's subsidiary club New York City FC after being released by Chelsea, while France defender Bacary Sagna has signed from Arsenal.
As ever, City's success will hinge on its twin titans: midfielder Yaya Toure, who has resolved to stay at the club despite threatening to leave after he received a modest birthday present; and prolific Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, who has signed a new five-year contract.
Despite managing a club owned by Roman Abramovich, who is worth a reputed $10 billion, Mourinho decried his team as the "little horse" in the scurry for the finish line.
This season, ominously, his tone is different.
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The acquisition of two big names from Spain -- Cesc Fabregas of Barcelona and Diego Coasta from La Liga champion Atletico Madrid -- has taken his squad onto a different plane, while the return of stalwart Didier Drogba adds an unashamedly sentimental sheen.
"We have the squad that we want to have," Mourinho told reporters on the eve of the new season. "It is a squad for tomorrow, for next season and also a squad with big possibilities for the next five or 10 years with so many young people."
Chelsea may have finished third last season, but Mourinho's tactical prowess was still in evidence.
Not only did he propel the Londoners to home and away wins over eventual champion Manchester City, he did the same to Liverpool -- a morale-crushing 2-0 victory at Anfield in late April was the beginning of the end for the Reds' title aspirations.
It was against the lesser lights Chelsea faltered, but with his squad now bolstered by yet more quality, Mourinho's charges won't be as generous this time around.
MANCHESTER CITY
Champion twice in the past three seasons, City might have to play second fiddle to Mourinho and Chelsea in 2014-15.
Last season's triumph was a mass of contradictions -- for large parts of the campaign big-spending City was considered favorite but became ultimately reliant on Liverpool's last-gasp stumble to claim top honors.
Manuel Pellegrini's charges spent just 15 days at the top over the whole campaign; the irony of this season may well see it spend more time at the summit without finishing as top dog.
The club's Chilean coach is a year older and wiser as to the travails of English football however, and it has lavished more cash on fleshing out a squad that already has more depth than an Olympic swimming pool.
City has raided Portugal to prise Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala from Porto, while goalkeeper Willy Caballero and Bruno Zuculini have arrived from Spain.
That quartet's lack of English experience has been offset to a degree by the arrival of two seasoned Premier League campaigners plucked from City's rivals.
Frank Lampard, a three-time title winner, has joined on loan from City's subsidiary club New York City FC after being released by Chelsea, while France defender Bacary Sagna has signed from Arsenal.
As ever, City's success will hinge on its twin titans: midfielder Yaya Toure, who has resolved to stay at the club despite threatening to leave after he received a modest birthday present; and prolific Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, who has signed a new five-year contract.
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