Former Chelsea star William Gallas has recalled a brilliant story from his playing career at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho.
Retired French defender William Gallas, who played at Chelsea from 2001 to 2006, was part of a hugely successful era for the Blues.
The versatile defender went on to play for Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in his career, but his best spell certainly came in West London.
| Appearances | Goals | Trophies |
| 225 | 14 | 4 |
Without a doubt, Gallas was part of a Chelsea team that owes a lot of its success to the appointment of Jose Mourinho as the manager in 2004. The Portuguese coach led them to back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two years with them.
It’s no great surprise that Chelsea’s players cried when Mourinho was sacked the first time around. Remarkably, he would return to the club further down the line, winning another league title with them.
William Gallas shares pre-match instruction from Jose Mourinho that scared Chelsea’s opponents
During a recent interview on talkSPORT, Gallas recalled a fascinating memory from his Chelsea days. Apparently, the Blues once left one team “scared” in the tunnel because the pre-match instruction from Mourinho was to look straight ahead and not engage with the opposition players.
Gallas said: “I remember one day—I don’t remember who it was against—but before we came out of the dressing room, he (Mourinho) said to us, ‘Guys, when you are in the tunnel, I don’t want to see anyone speak or shake hands with the opponent. You just have to look in front of you.’
“So that’s what we did, and we felt from the opponent they were scared. It was at Stamford Bridge [in the league], but I don’t remember against which team.”
In the modern day, you can’t read too much into the pre-match activity in the tunnel. It did feel a lot more intense and worthy a couple of decades ago, though.
Mourinho is certainly one of the greatest managers of all time, particularly when it comes to mindset and psychological battles. His Chelsea team of the mid-2000s was the most mentally tough side we’ve seen represent the club.
Joe Cole previously hailed Mourinho by naming the Chelsea icon as the best manager he worked under.
Jose Mourinho success across two spells at Chelsea
While the Blues have been fortunate enough to enjoy some sensational managers in their history, Mourinho belongs at the top of the pile for what he achieved across two spells with them.
| Days in charge | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win percentage |
| 1176 days | 185 | 124 | 38 | 23 | 67% |
| Days in charge | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win percentage |
| 889 days | 136 | 80 | 27 | 29 | 59% |
In fairness, he worked alongside Chelsea legends such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard during his time with the Blues.
If you fast forward to now, current head coach Enzo Maresca is tasked with trying to succeed with a ridiculously young group of players, so a bit more patience will be required.
