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Mourinho sacked as Chelsea manager
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JOSE Mourinho was sacked as manager of Premier League champion Chelsea yesterday after a calamitous run of results left the London club one point above the relegation zone.
“Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have today parted company by mutual consent,” the club said on its official Twitter account.
The 52-year-old Portuguese returned to Stamford Bridge for a second stint in charge in 2013 and last season led it to the title and a League Cup triumph.
In what proved to be his final Chelsea game, Mourinho’s side was beaten 1-2 at Leicester City on Monday — a club managed by Claudio Ranieri, who he replaced at Stamford Bridge when he first arrived in England in 2004.
It was Chelsea’s ninth defeat in 16 league matches.
Ahead of this weekend’s home game with Sunderland, it has managed only 15 points during its worst start to a season since being relegated in 1978-79.
Media speculation had been mounting about Mourinho’s position and it reached a crescendo after Monday’s defeat when he accused some of the players of “betraying his work.”
Mourinho won back-to-back titles for Chelsea during his first spell in charge from 2004-07 before falling out of favor with the club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
He was welcomed back as a returning hero in 2013 after spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid and soon delivered a third league title.
However, this season it has already lost the same amount of league matches as it did in the last two campaigns combined, and its hopes of a top-four finish looks bleak.
Few could have envisaged its spectacular slump but the fans have remained loyal to him.
The season has followed a similar pattern to Mourinho’s previous dismissal eight years ago, although he was given a little longer to reverse its fortunes this time.
Juande Ramos, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla manager, and Dutchman Guus Hiddink have been cited as potential short-term replacements, Hiddink having previously fulfilled the role in 2009.
Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich coach, former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Italy coach Antonio Conte are reported to be possible long-term successors.
“The club’s focus is now on ensuring our talented squad reaches its potential,” the Chelsea statement added. “There will be no further comment until a new appointment is made.”
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