Sports

Mourinho quits as manager of Chelsea

by mbaumgartner | September 19, 2007 at 06:53 pm

489 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

I wondered about the fresh new haircut. This follows closely on the heels of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger getting a new deal. Mourinho, never one for too much humility, may have pushed a little too far with his owner here (that's pure speculation). Interesting timing though.

Mourinho quits as manager of Chelsea

LONDON (AP) - Jose Mourinho quit as manager of Chelsea late Wednesday, one day after the club was held to a 1-1 draw by Rosenborg in the European Champions League.

"Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have agreed to part company today by mutual consent," the English team said early Thursday on its website.

The Portuguese coach led Chelsea to two straight English Premier League titles, and won both the FA Cup and the League Cup during his tenure. But twice losing in the semifinals of the Champions League put him at odds with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

The BBC reported that Mourinho sent text messages to five players Wednesday night to say he was leaving.

Mourinho won the Champions League title with FC Porto in 2004, and moved to Chelsea the next season. Since his arrival, Abramovich has spent millions to acquire players with an eye toward winning the European crown.

The Blues made the semifinals in 2005 and again in 2007, but lost to Premier League rival Liverpool each time. In 2006, Chelsea lost to eventual champion FC Barcelona in the second round.

In his first two seasons, Mourinho led Chelsea to two English league titles, but he failed to make it three straight when Manchester United won last season.

This season, Chelsea is in fifth place in the English league with 11 points from six matches, behind both Liverpool and Man United on goal difference. Arsenal leads the league with 13 points, one more than Manchester City.

Mourinho, who anointed himself "The Special One" when he arrived at Chelsea, still had three years left on a contract that reportedly pays 6.5 million pounds (CAD$13 million) per year.

Sevilla coach Juande Ramos is among the coaches reportedly linked with Mourinho's job. Ramos was in London Wednesday, where his team lost to Arsenal 3-0 in the Champions League.

Chelsea's next match is at Man United on Sunday, and assistant Steve Clarke or director of soccer Avram Grant are expected to take charge of team.