Mourinho to bounce back from Real disappointment at Chelsea

Jose Mourinho has called this his worst season in football after Real Madrid’s rocky campaign came to an end with defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey final. The loss at the Bernabeu means for the first time in his managerial career Mourinho will end the campaign without any silverware. If he wasn’t headed for the exit door at Real before Friday night, losing to Atletico for the first time since 1999 certainly hastened his exit.

Mourinho has two more meaningless league games to go before he makes his next move, presumably back to Chelsea. The speculation surrounding the ‘Special One’s’ return to Stamford Bridge has reached fever pitch in recent weeks and most bookmakers have him odds-on in the football betting markets to move back to west London.

Despite winning the Europa League and securing Champions League football for next season, Rafael Benitez isn’t likely to have his one year contract extended by the Blues. While Chelsea fans haven’t taken to the Spaniard Mourinho has a tough act to follow should he step into Benitez’s shoes.

After the failure of this season at Real, the Portuguese tactician will be desperate to do something special with Chelsea. Having come so close to winning the Champions League in his last spell at the club, success in Europe will probably be his main priority. Despite the players that were key to Mourinho first time around being elder statesmen these days, you wouldn’t bet against the 50-year-old winning a trophy on his return to England.

Benitez has said the current Chelsea squad is good enough to win the Premier League recently, and with the addition of two or three players he is probably right. They say never go back but Mourinho’s return could be the dawning of a period of Chelsea dominance if he can recapture the magic of his previous reign.