‘We were sat in the cinema with Jose Mourinho, watching a documentary about our first two Premier League titles, then I got home and saw he’d left – I thought it had to be a joke’: Chelsea legend opens up on boss’ shock 2007 departure
Mourinho's first Chelsea exit came rather out of the blue, taking even his own players by surprise
Jose Mourinho in 2007(Image credit: Alamy)
Chelsea legend Petr Cech has opened up about his shock at Jose Mourinho's abrupt departure from the club. The goalkeeping great claims he thought it was "a joke" at first.
Mourinho left the Blues (for the first time) in September 2007, having guided the club to their first two Premier League titles in 2005/06 and 2006/07. The Portuguese officially exited Stamford Bridge by mutual consent, although he had had a series of disagreements with owner Roman Abramovich.
Cech was one of Mourinho's first signings as Chelsea boss and a near ever-present throughout those two title triumphs. Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, he explained how he discovered that his manager had gone.
Petr Cech was integral to Chelsea's early success under Jose Mourinho (Image credit: Alamy)
"I was surprised," said the former Czech Republic captain, "as everybody was. There was a documentary made about the first two titles, and the day that he departed, we went to Fulham Broadway cinema for the premiere.
"Jose was there, too – everybody was. We all sat in the cinema, watching the documentary, and afterwards I drove home.
When I got home after 11pm, I turned on Sky Sports and there was this yellow line saying Jose Mourinho had left. I thought it had to be a joke; I couldn’t believe it. At the cinema everybody was there like nothing had happened, then suddenly he was gone."
Mourinho's sudden departure came as a surprise to many (Image credit: Alamy)
Fortunately for Cech, he would be reunited with Mourinho. The serial trophy-winner returned for a second spell in charge of Chelsea ahead of the 2013/14 season.
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He steered the Blues to another Premier League title the following campaign. Cech had been usurped as first-choice 'keeper by Thibaut Courtois by then, but he still collected another winner's medal before moving on to Arsenal in the summer of 2015.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
