Chelsea’s José Mourinho the Happy One as he ends his trophy drought | Barney Ronay

The Portuguese wins his first trophy for 914 days, a first for the new era, but very much in the style of the old Mourinho era

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Who’d have thought it? Maybe he really is the Happy One after all. Certainly José Mourinho looked unusually animated here – all smiles, hugs, involuntary air punch combinations – in the moment of victory as Chelsea produced a performance of discipline and craft to beat Tottenham 2-0 and lift the Capital One Cup. Coincidentally, it was also a first trophy of any kind for Mourinho in 914 days as a manager at Real Madrid and Chelsea. Not that anybody – apart, perhaps from José himself, and even then only quietly, late at night – is counting.

Either way, this was a wonderful day all round for Mourinho at a boisterous, rain-whipped Wembley stadium as his Chelsea Mk2 team won its first trophy of the new era with a performance that looked quite a lot like the old era. Not only did Chelsea’s manager enact a minor tactical triumph with his reshuffled midfield, in the process displaying a hilariously unflinching pragmatist’s disdain for the occasion. He also saw his team’s position clarified in the pursuit of more substantial honours.

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via Chelsea | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1K4JnNe