Frank Lampard hails Jose Mourinho impact at Chelsea in 2004-05

‘He was a fighter, he created conflict – and it worked’: Frank Lampard reveals insight into Jose Mourinho’s methods in new Premier League doc as Chelsea upset Arsenal and Man United to win title in the Special One’s first season

  • Mourinho had a significant impact on the Premier League when he arrived
  • He was perceived as arrogant but soon proved his trophy-winning credentials 
  • Lampard lifted the lid on Mourinho’s methods in new Paramount documentary 

Frank Lampard believes Jose Mourinho succeeded at Chelsea because he ‘created conflict’ and a mentality of ‘them and us.’

Having proclaimed himself ‘the Special One’ at his Stamford Bridge unveiling in 2004, Mourinho went on to win the Premier League title and the League Cup in his first season in charge.

Backed by the billions of Roman Abramovich, their charismatic Portuguese coach wasn’t afraid to show a steely edge when it came to challenging English football statesmen like Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

That paid off when Chelsea won back-to-back titles in Mourinho’s first two seasons and star midfielder Lampard has lifted the lid on his methods in the new Paramount+ Premier League documentary ‘Fever Pitch’.

‘What we really started to do was change our mindset, we really started to believe we would win,’ Lampard said.

Frank Lampard has described how ‘fighter’ Jose Mourinho created a ‘them and us’ mentality which elevated Chelsea to title winners during his first season at the club in 2004-05

‘Special One’ Mourinho guided Chelsea to their first league title of the Roman Abramovich era

Mourinho tells the new Paramount+ documentary Fever Pitch how he felt the need to take the pressure off his Chelsea players by hogging the spotlight

‘We had this manager with this real confidence, this bravado, who also wanted to sort of fight. He was a fighter in his media and the press.

‘He liked to create conflict, he liked to create them and us as a strategy – and it worked.’

Chelsea dominated the Premier League in 2004-05, losing just once all season and winning 29 of their 38 games as they finished 12 points clear of reigning champions Arsenal.

They also defeated Liverpool 3-2 after extra time to win the League Cup, a memorable afternoon for Mourinho after he was sent to the stands for making a gesture towards rival fans.

In the documentary, Mourinho recalls how the English media believed Chelsea would capitulate, allowing experienced title campaigners United and Arsenal to overtake them.

‘We were winning, winning, winning and it looked like nobody believed that Chelsea was going to win that title,’ he said.

‘How many times did we listen, how many times did we read: ‘Around Boxing Day they will collapse. Too many matches in that period, they will collapse. As soon as they feel the pressure they will collapse.’

‘Everything was “Man United will do it, Arsenal will do it, Chelsea will fail.”

Former Chelsea midfielder Lampard said Mourinho ‘used conflict as a strategy’ to get results

Mourinho won back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two seasons in charge of Chelsea

Lampard (left), Mourinho (centre) and John Terry celebrate with the Premier League trophy


Mourinho was sent to the stands for making a ‘shush’ gesture to Liverpool fans as Chelsea won the League Cup final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in 2005

‘I felt I needed to protect the guys, I needed to put myself in the spotlight, to be the one who shows strength of character, the one who shows no fear of Arsenal, of United, of history.

‘I tried to be genuine, a little bit naive compared with today, probably a bit more emotional compared to today, perhaps with a little bit more of that revenge feeling – “you say this, I kill you.” Everything was natural.

‘I believe that people only believed that the title was ours when we did it. For your own, like, ‘I did it and now you shut up.’

‘The problem is they only shut up for a couple of weeks but at least for a couple of weeks it was a special feeling.

‘These guys, they really wanted to make history. We went step-by-step and discovering the beauty and also the difficulties of the Premier League and good players without titles and Premier Leagues, you finish your career you are not a big player without winning titles.

‘I was right when I made that decision of Chelsea in 2004 because something special happened at that time.’

All episodes of FEVER PITCH: THE BATTLE FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE are available from 7th May 2023 exclusively on Paramount+ 

Source: Read Full Article