Returning Mourinho faces ‘New Chelsea’ challenge

Jose Mourinho will return to Chelsea for a second spell, six years after he first left. (Getty Images)

The football world is abuzz with the return of Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge. After a tumultuous season with Real Madrid, the Portuguese’s return to Chelsea is seen as an attempt to rejuvenate the club and reclaim the Premier League title. Even with the Europa League title last season, Chelsea’s squad looks imbalanced in many areas and it’ll be interesting to see how Mourinho sets up the team.

Chelsea have largely adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation on pitch under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez. At the beginning of 2012-13 campaign, Di Matteo used Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and one of Ramires and Ryan Bertrand on the wings behind Fernando Torres. The turning point was the Champions League home game against Juventus, when he dropped Juan Mata for Oscar in a central role to mark Andrea Pirlo out of the game and the Brazilian’s excellent defensive job and two stunning goals past Gianluigi Buffon prompted Di Matteo to start him regularly.

This meant Chelsea were more attacking with the trio of Hazard, Mata and Oscar behind Torres and played some thrilling football in recent times. But their lack of defensive work meant although Chelsea were scoring three goals per game on average, they started leaking goals at the back. Their knack of cutting in and taking up more central positions meant the fullbacks Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic had to get forward to provide width, which explains the latter’s surge in goals this season.

Benitez’s fix was pretty obvious by dropping one of the trio and introducing Victor Moses, who was willing to track back to support in defence and stay wide to give width to the team. The experiment worked partially as the team stayed more compact and scoring goals on counter but the quick interchanges in passing, the one twos, the scintillating football they played at start of season was missing.

This is one of Jose Mourinho’s first tasks at Chelsea. During the Portuguese’s first spell at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won two league titles and an FA Cup but that team was built on big muscular players like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and it was a win at all costs rather than playing attractive football and winning. The current Chelsea squad is the exact opposite of that team with the likes of Hazard, Mata, Oscar and on loan players Kevin De Bruyne, Josh McEachran all small, nimble playmakers, who can play attractive football but their lack of defensive ability means that the team becomes imbalanced. The task that Mourinho faces is to integrate these players in the starting eleven and maintain balance between attack and defense; his first interview saw some early light on the issue:

“I like the fact we have three, four or five players from the beginning of the winning Chelsea, and I think they have to be always a part of the Chelsea soul, so I’m so happy we kept some of these boys.

“But the profile of the younger players with long-term space for improvement and development, I like very much that kind of profile. I’ve come with a four-year contract so with the age of Eden Hazard, Oscar, David Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me. Together we can improve and make a better team than we have now.”

The interesting question is whether he’ll persist with the existing 4-2-3-1 formation which given the above problems seems unfit or move to a different system. A popular opinion among fans is a 4-3-3 with a lone holder, which allows Oscar to play in a more central role. The Brazilian has been used on the wings last season where he was not completely effective and a move to a more central position where he can get more touches might be more beneficial.

Another system which Mourinho almost patented at Real Madrid while chasing games was a shift to three at the back, leaving the entire wing to either Sami Khedira or Angel Di Maria. The latter was used in the second leg of Champions league semi-final against Borussia Dortmund and the switch proved extremely effective in the latter stages and helped Madrid dominate the ball and pin Dortmund back in their own half as Madrid scored twice within a period of five minutes.

Something similar maybe used at Chelsea with Ramires in Di Maria’s role. The Brazilian is a unique player and was used on the wings or in the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation, neither of the roles which suit his style. His versatility means he can be used in many of roles and at the best one is the runner in three man midfield in a 4-3-3, which also happens to be the one he prefers. His sheer pace and stamina means he can cover the entire flank on his own and might prove more effective than Khedira or Di Maria.

A factor that Mourinho had to deal regularly with in Madrid was the qualms and fancies of his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 might have become one of the best in the world during his time in Spain, but for all he is worth, Mourinho was not able to get Ronaldo to track back on a regular basis. This was often a cause of concern on and off the field. More recently this issue arose in big matches, where the opponents took advantage of this weakened defence on the left, rather than baulking down to the prowess in attack on this flank.

Eden Hazard will have the change to grow as a player under the Portuguese. (Getty Images)

This issue will not pertain at Chelsea, as even though Hazard had created similar ripples with his skills in attack; but the Belgian has shown a spirited sense of back-tracking later on in the season. And being of an age where he can pretty much be molded into any style, this 4 year tenure of Jose at the Bridge will definitely make or break the Belgian’s career. Hazard’s style on the left will become a huge advantage in Jose’s plans, as in Madrid it was Ronaldo’s attacking on the left that made the manager to compromise on the strikers’ role to adjust the balance in attack. Jose’s choice of striker will become very interesting at this point, as he is not one to stick again and again to a fluttering Fernando Torres. Talks of him being impressed with Romelu Lukaku’s style are doing rounds, and his similarities to a certain Ivorian will do the Belgian teenager no bad.

Apart from all the talk about the tactics that ‘Mou’ will inculcate at Chelsea, the longevity of this tenure of his plays a crucial part here. Right from his exit in 2007, the Blues have never attained a state of stable management in the house; and the titles that they have managed over this period remain a testament to the characters in the squad. All the early indications this time around indicate towards a period of sustained growth, as Jose mentioned:

“I feel myself not just as the Chelsea manager, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve arrived at a club that I already love. Normally I love the club a couple of years after I am there. Of course I go to a club, I wear the shirt and I feel the shirt with the crest and I give everything I have to do it, but this is the first time where I love it already.

“I’ve come with a four-year contract so with the age of Eden Hazard, Oscar, David Luiz and these boys, I think it will be good for me to work with them and good for them to work with me. Together we can improve and make a better team than we have now.”