'Welcome home, welcome, come on in and close the door
You've been gone, too long
Welcome, you're home once more'
SIX years have come and gone since Jose Mourinho and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's relationship broke down with "The Special One" walking out of Stamford Bridge after three successful years in charge. Yesterday, though, "five minutes" was all it took for the Portuguese to confirm what had long been expected, signing a four-year deal to kick-start his second stint in charge of the west London club.
The love affair was back on again. But, for Mourinho, it had never really ended. His relationship with the multi-billionaire has long since warmed and he maintains it was an "easy decision" to make.
"I had to prepare myself not to be too emotional on my arrival, but obviously I am very happy," said the man who was headhunted by Chelsea after guiding Porto to Champions League glory in 2004 – he would go on to lead the English club to successive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, before his departure, officially by mutual consent, a year later.
"It was an easy decision. I met the boss, I met the owner and in five minutes after a couple of very short but pragmatic questions, we decided straight away.
"I asked the boss 'do you want me back?' and the boss asked me 'do you want to come back?' and in a couple of minutes, the decision was made."
That decision, according to Ron Gourlay, Chelsea's chief executive, was the only option on the table following the reign of interim manager Rafael Benitez, who had replaced Champions League-winning coach Roberto Di Matteo last November.
After a difficult initial spell in charge, Benitez walked away from Chelsea with his head held high after guiding the club to a third-place finish in the Barclays Premier League as well as silverware in the form of the Europa League trophy.
As for his own departure first time round, Mourinho said: "It was a difficult moment because I love it here and have a big connection with the club. Also for the club, my departure it was not easy. But if you analyse it in a cool way and you leave emotions a bit apart, I think it was fantastic. Because after that I had in my career what I was aiming for and Chelsea as a football club got important trophies after that, with important moments in the history of the club.
"Now we are back together and it is a great moment for both, so I think we are ready to marry again and to be happy and successful again."
Mourinho feels he is coming back to Stamford Bridge as much a fan as he is the club's eighth manager since he left. "It is exactly the same message, but now I can say I am one of you and that makes a little bit of a difference," he said.
"I never hide that in my career in football I had two great passions, Inter and Chelsea, and Chelsea is more than important for me. It was very hard to play against Chelsea.
"Now I promise exactly the same things I promised in 2004, but with the difference we have [now], which is I am one of you."
Mourinho will be officially unveiled at a press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday, and is set to bring assistant coaches Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais to Stamford Bridge where they will work alongside current first-team staff Steve Holland, Christophe Lollichon and Chris Jones.
The new manager is expected to bring in some reinforcements ahead of the new season, with £15m-rated Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi a reported target.
One player who is certain to be an integral part of the Chelsea side again next season is Frank Lampard. The 34-year-old England midfielder broke the club's long-standing goal scoring record this season and agreed a 12-month contract extension.
"Mourinho's taken that [winning mentality] everywhere he's gone. He creates a spirit in his squads that you can see from the outside is very, very strong. He's a top-class manager, we all know that."
The Special One would agree, no doubt.
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