Adieu, Mourinho

The special one, Jose Mourinho, has left the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club.

Chelsea officially announced they are parting with their Portuguese coach on September 20. Mourinho became coach in 2004, and received an annual salary of 12.6 billion won last year. He was one of the most distinguished coaches in the world.

It is well known that Mourinho’s stepping down is a result of a long conflict with the oil tycoon Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (41). Mourinho especially had severe run-ins with Abramovich on the trading issue of the Ukrainian “scoring machine” Andriy Shevchenko. The coach was against trading in Shevchenko, while the owner pushed forward, deepening the chasm between the two. Mourinho had assessed that Shevchenko did not fit his designed strategy, and deemed Abramovich’s actions as an infringement on his coach’s rights.

Shevchenko left AC Milan in 2006 to join Chelsea with a contract worth $60 million. Amidst the delicate team atmosphere, he has scored a disappointing 15 goals in 53 games.

Meanwhile, Mourinho spat venom all last season, breeding foes all around him in the Premier League as well. Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson and Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez have become his archenemies, while raising referee conspiracies.

In such circumstances, Chelsea remains in the fifth place in the League this season, and performed poorly in the UEFA Champions League.

Coach Mourinho led Chelsea to two consecutive League Cups, but ended up coming runner-up to Manchester United last season. Not having won a single Champions League title was Abramovich’s discontent.

bluesky@donga.com