“Felt like someone had died” – How senior Chelsea players reacted to Mourinho departure

Chelsea had a real feel of unity about the squad during Jose Mourinho’s first reign as manager back in 2004, there was a real togetherness, friendship, loyalty, and they were all fighting for each other.

It was one of the best Chelsea squads many of us have ever witnessed even to this day, and under Mourinho they had a real mixture of fight and quality that would bring them many successes.

Some of Chelsea’s greatest ever players were in this squad performing week in week out for a man they had nothing but respect for.

The likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba and current boss Frank Lampard had the time of their lives under Mourinho, and there has never been a team spirit quite like that one.

When Mourinho left in 2007, you could sense what a tough period it was for the players, and one of the players at the time Steve Sidwell, has been revealing how hard it was to The Athletic (cited by The Daily Mail).

Sidwell said:

“I never felt that tension or thought he was in trouble.

“There were a few games before, you could see things in the press and it really bubbled up. But you didn’t feel it on the inside. The players were all united, no one was turning against him, he hadn’t lost the dressing room.

“The day he went, I was driving my wife to the airport and the news came on the radio. I just thought, “S**t, he’s gone. What’s going to happen?” We were then all called into a meeting at Cobham.

“It was awkward when Jose came to say his goodbyes. You could have heard a pin drop. It felt like someone had died.

“When you see strong characters like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry either crying on the floor or certainly welling up… I got upset as well. It was really weird.”

Chelsea News