Patrick Barclay: Jose Mourinho hardly failed at Real Madrid but he wasn’t special either

Jose Mourinho will return to Stamford Bridge minus his aura of invincibility. He is still special but not as before. Maybe more special than the Manchester City newcomer Manuel Pellegrini, maybe not — we shall see. First he has to prove himself an improvement on Rafa Benitez.

What altered Mourinho’s image was the Champions League. By winning the Spanish title in such style with Real Madrid last season, he encouraged the notion that he could become the first manager ever to rule Europe with a third club. Then Real required the bizarre dismissal of Nani to get past Manchester United before being beaten by Borussia Dortmund.

Now it is Borussia’s Jurgen Klopp who advances on Wembley with a special air and Mourinho (below) who must come again. He hardly failed at Madrid but, if you discount the contribution of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was signed before him, didn’t lift the club as with Chelsea first time around, or Inter for that matter, or Porto a decade ago.

His enduring tactical acumen was evident in how, after the humiliation of a 5-0 defeat by Barcelona, he gradually got the measure of Real’s great rivals. But relationships off the pitch became strained and it may be to Chelsea’s benefit if he has learned the lesson that it cannot always be the other guys’ fault. Again, time will tell.

The key factor, however, is how Chelsea perform in the market this summer. When Mourinho came to the Bridge last time, he was presented with not only Petr Cech and Arjen Robben but Didier Drogba and once more the centre-forward question will be crucial.

Or, to put it another way: whom does Radamel Falcao follow from Spain, Pellegrini or Mourinho?