When Jose Mourinho arrived and became Special

The 2004-05 English Premier League title was won by Chelsea in relentless fashion.

Jose Mourinho’s first season in England proved to be unilaterally impressive; his side lost just one league match all season, conceded just 15 goals and recorded a massive 95 points. Arsenal finished in second position but in truth there was no title race worthy of mention; Chelsea were, by some distance, the best team in the country.

CHANGES

Roman Abramovich provided a level of financial clout never before seen in English football, and Mourinho utilised his resources to full effect. The players that were brought in all played a major role in the side’s success over an extended period; Didier Drogba came in from Marseille for £24m, while defensive duo Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, who had performed so diligently for Mourinho in Porto’s Champions League-winning season, joined for a combined fee of £30m.

Petr Cech, who would be first-choice goalkeeper for the next decade, arrived for £12m, while the brilliant Arjen Robben was a shrewd acquisition from PSV.

Manchester United spent the biggest single fee of the window, capturing the immensely talented Wayne Rooney from Everton for a fee extending to £30m. Alan Smith (Leeds, £7m) and Gabriel Heinze also helped to bolster their squad.

Real Madrid, after acquiring David Beckham the year prior, turned their attention to the Premier League once again, securing deals for Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Owen from Newcastle and Liverpool respectively. The Reds, under new boss Rafa Benitez, raided Spain in response, securing the highly-rated Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.

From the second tier, the promoted sides were Norwich City, West Bromich Albion and Crystal Palace, who came up via the play-offs despite finishing the league season in sixth spot.

SEASON SUMMARY

As impressive and virtually faultless as Chelsea’s season was, the innate level of inconsistency in their rivals created less of a race and more of a procession….

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-jose-mourinho-arrived-and-became-special-the-2004-05-premier-league/54

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-07-29 10:00:00

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