LONDON — It`s the 60th minute of a match whose outcome is still far from decided. Play has been stopped as Benfica`s Dodi Lukebakio prepares to take a free kick from a dangerous position on the left flank. Despite a fragile 1-0 lead, Stamford Bridge is focused on something else. Not for the first or last time tonight, Jose Mourinho`s name is chanted throughout the stadium.
He acknowledges his adoring public with a wave. And again. And yet again. After the fourth time, a simple nod is no longer enough, at least for the most devoted fans of Chelsea`s former manager. A fan with a trendy top knot and a summer scarf near the away dugout pleads with Mourinho to turn around and grant him the perfect selfie.
Football recedes into the background, as the true star of the evening is the man pacing far beyond the confines of his technical area. When players in red and blue shirts contend for possession, Mourinho stands just inches away. He appears imperious, like an emperor. All this is his, the house that Jose built.
For the past four years, Chelsea fans have yearned for teams as magnificently arrogant and ruthlessly competitive as those of “the Special One.” Before Clearlake, this club`s identity was defined not only by Roman Abramovich and his billions, but also by the atmosphere Jose Mourinho instilled from day one. Every game was crucial. Chelsea players would fight with opponents, referees, and even their own management. Rules might have been bent — the Football Association seemed to think so — because victory was paramount.
And that was the rather disheartening aspect of Mourinho`s return. All the histrionics, the playful interaction with the crowd, the late yellow card: they should have served a purpose. What made Mourinho one of football`s greatest characters was how his qualities translated onto the field. Even when his teams cost hundreds of millions to assemble, they played with the spirit of underdogs. They snapped and snarled, imbuing the match with a sense of peril.
But not this time. Perhaps it`s merely a function of this being only the second match of an eight-game group stage. The tame conclusion of a dreary game spoke volumes. Richard Rios` first-half own goal is unlikely to decide whether Benfica reaches the knockout stages with a top-twenty finish. It may not even be the decisive game for Chelsea to secure a direct spot in the Round of 16.
Nevertheless, the mere presence of Mourinho at the peak of his powers would have significantly raised the stakes, regardless of the occasion. In this part of London, he will always be adored, but he should also have been feared. Enzo Maresca deploying a lineup that might have passed for last season`s Conference League attack could have been punished, but even a heavily rotated Chelsea squad still far surpassed Benfica in talent. When Mourinho arrived here with Inter, Manchester United, or Tottenham, he received the same adoration as tonight. But that came with a caveat: hostilities would soon commence, and Mourinho`s players would give Chelsea no quarter.
Had anything similar happened tonight, it could have gone very wrong for Maresca, who truly didn`t need the return of an illustrious predecessor at a time when his team was faltering. The performances befitting their titles hadn`t been shown before this evening, nor were they tonight. The world champions weren`t particularly good. But they didn`t need to be. Their visitors worked hard and created dangerous moments down the flanks, especially through Lukebakio, yet only genuinely threatened Robert Sanchez`s goal when Frederik Aursnes was in an offside position. Benfica didn`t “park the bus,” but this team lacked the verve and engine to truly test Maresca`s side. When Mourinho did spot an opening he would have pounced on in his prime, it was instantly shut down.
“I tried to change the left winger because I saw Malo Gusto was in trouble,” he said. “Maresca caused Malo Gusto difficulties. Maresca brought on a better player than Malo Gusto [Reece James]. This is the challenge of facing Chelsea.”
Ultimately, if the second half was building towards anything, it was Mourinho`s post-match press conference, which, despite his box-office appeal, was a grand manifestation of his subdued homecoming. As he had on Monday, Mourinho embraced old friends and indulged in his more contemplative side. This almost seemed to be the point: cameras focused on his conversations and a pile of biscuits, while what happened on the pitch was largely sidelined.
When he spoke in English, his words carried a legacy: the familiar reminder of his sacking from Spurs before he could bring them a trophy, his insistent declaration that he is more motivated than ever to win silverware, and a reaffirmation of his standing at Chelsea.
“I thank them,” he said to those who had so warmly welcomed him home. “On the pitch, I didn`t, I was focused on the game, but you heard the chanting. When I`m in London, I meet them every day. I know our relationship will last forever. Hopefully, in 20 years, I`ll come here with my grandkids. They belong to my history. And I belong to their history.”
But that`s the truth, isn`t it? It`s all history now. Mourinho might say, “I don`t feed myself with memories; I feed myself with victories and results,” but he has long since lost the “teeth and claws” needed to take down the biggest prey.
The days when he was one of the great “predators” ended when he left Tottenham, if not before. But by drifting first to Italy, then to Turkey, and now returning to where it all began, his decline went unnoticed. Not tonight, though. Tonight was an evening to celebrate who he once was. Who he might become scarcely matters on Champions League nights.
