How League Cup Success Spurred Jose Mourinho And Chelsea On To Further Glory

Ahead of Sunday's EFL Cup final, we look at how Jose Mourinho's first trophy in English football was the catalyst for further Chelsea glory.

Many long-term managerial successes can point to one moment, one cup win that kick started lasting greatness.

Sir Alex Ferguson's first trophy - the FA Cup in 1990 - relieved some of the pressure on his shoulders and he never looked back, and that feeling a cup win evokes galvanised Jose Mourinho, the current Manchester United manager, in equal measure 12 years ago.

Having arrived at Chelsea in 2004 in a whirlwind of sound-biteable statements, the Portuguese was an instant hit with fans, with his sureness keeping the press hanging on his every word.

However, the only way Mourinho could add credence to his "Special One" boast was to win trophies, and such brashness meant he had to do so sooner rather than later.

Fans didn't have to wait long. The first competitive silverware available in the 2004/05 season was the League Cup - the Carling Cup as it was then known - and the Blues came away with it after a thrilling extra-time victory over Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.

The dramatic win got the Portuguese up and running in England, and after being escorted from the touchline for gesturing towards Liverpool fans, it was a sign of things to come, in the dugout as well as trophy collecting.

The Blues proved their resolve in south Wales, with new players showing the same passionate determination as their fiery manager.

Liverpool looked set to break Chelsea hearts having led through John Arne Riise's first-minute strike for so long, but an own goal by Steven Gerrard with just 11 minutes to play gifted the Blues a way back into the match.

With Mourinho banished to the stands, Chelsea edged ahead in extra time through Didier Drogba, but Liverpool again restored parity through the unlikely source of Antonio Nunez.

Undeterred, Chelsea came again, with Mateja Kezman's goal proving decisive. The Blues never gave up, having missed a host of chances throughout the match, and their determination paid off as they went home with the silverware.

It gave the whole club a huge lift. Coming into the final, Mourinho's men had won just one of their previous four games - a run that included an FA Cup exit - but Kezman's last-gasp winner revitalised the camp ahead of a final push for the league title.

For many players it was their first taste of silverware at Chelsea, and having come so close to title success the previous season, finishing second for the first time since the Premier League's formation, going one better was top priority, with clinching the cup giving the players belief they could achieve their title dream.

And they duly embarked on a six-game winning streak which all but guaranteed the club's first league title in half a century. In the long-term, it set the tone for an unprecedented era of success for the club.

Mourinho masterminded two more cup wins and successive league titles in his first stint at Stamford Bridge, more than proving his credentials.

"The way we were champions was not easy," said Mourinho in 2005. "It is the mentality, ambition and desire. We met for the first time in July and from that moment we have built something special."

Still regarded as a transcendent figure at Stamford Bridge, despite his sacking last season, Mourinho really did build something special down the King's Road.

However, if the Blues had headed back down the M4 empty-handed from that Carling Cup final, it could have been an altogether different tale.

Fast forward to the present day, while having other priorities at Old Trafford, Mourinho will be going all out to beat Southampton, in the hope that, just as it did 12 years ago, a League Cup triumph can be the catalyst for bigger and better things.

Credit: Skysports.com