Jose Mourinho ‘feels like a kid’ after Chelsea triumph

The "Special One" at last lived up to his new self-proclaimed nickname of the 'Happy One' as he celebrated Chelsea's 2-0 win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Mourinho was not about to make rash predictions that 10 years since winning the League Cup provided the launch pad for his first all-conquering reign at Stamford Bridge his class of 2015 would similarly go on to dominate English football.

Mourinho, who has in public been fractious and feeling as if the world was against him in recent weeks, could hardly hide how much the win meant after his own personal trophy drought since 2012.

"In this country, it's much more difficult to win than in my first period here.

"It's important to feel that I am a kid at 52 years old. It's very important for me that before the game, I have the same feeling as before my first final. It's important for me to feel the same happiness as after the first victory.

"For the club it's one more cup - but it's the first one of a new team.

"I went two seasons without a trophy and it looked like I was 20 years without a trophy. Even myself, I think it's a good problem to have that feeling that two years is a long time."

"It's very difficult for a central defender to play (in the holding position).

"You have to think quicker but our new Marcel Desailly worked hard during the week and we've been preparing him a little bit in case of an energency.

"The kid did a fantastic job for us. With Ramires and Fabregas there (as holding midfielders) against a team like Tottenham, I think we would have been in trouble."

It’s refreshing – and long overdue – to hear from a chirpy Mourinho. He has cut a miserable figure since the dawn of 2015, using thinly-veiled attacks on officials to bolster his idea of a ‘campaign’ against Chelsea. Whether the Portuguese manager would have been quite so bubbly had the Blues tasted defeat at Wembley remains to be seen.

Chelsea, along with Everton, must now fly the Premier League’s flag on the continent (Arsenal and City are almost certainly out). If they can emerge victorious from their tussle with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, they will rightly feel confident about landing the treble. City do not look capable of challenging domestically; no clear favourite has emerged from Spain or Germany for Europe's top prize.

Assuming Roman Abramovich doesn’t chop him, Mourinho can look forward to building a monster team at Chelsea. Hopefully this victory is not solely used as a catalyst to more trophies, but also to a less fractious Mourinho.

Daniel Taylor, The Guardian - "Mourinho’s team had to withstand some concerted pressure before taking control of this final but once they were in charge they played with an expertise that made their opponents look callow. There is no better team when it comes to holding the lines, sizing up their opponents then gradually turning the screw. At times, it might not make for the most absorbing spectacle. Yet it is just one of the reasons why Mourinho hoards trophies in the way other people collect stamps."

Martin Samuel, Daily Mail - "It is the poor relation, the Capital One Cup, and now that the Europa League winners get a pass to the Champions League, probably the fifth biggest prize in English football. Yet Mourinho does not treat it so. He regards it as the springboard for greater success, and talked up its role in this, his second term. His reaction at the end suggested this was no mere soundbite. He hugged, he cavorted, he struck daft poses in front of the winners' podium, and then sprinted round the back to mount the steps and join his players in bouncing like over-excited toddlers."