Jose Mourinho’s shock exit from Chelsea in September 2007 left players like Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard “crying on the floor”, says Steve Sidwell.
A Portuguese coach had helped to lift the Blues to the very top of the Premier League during an initial stint at the Stamford Bridge.
Having been lured away from Porto in 2004, Mourinho delivered two consecutive Premier League titles, an FA Cup triumph and two League Cup with the London side.
He was then unceremoniously sacked, with Sidwell adamant that the current Tottenham manager – who returned to Chelsea in 2013 – had not lost the dressing room and left many of his senior players devastated by moving on.
Mourinho threatened to sell John Terry in front of the squad over misplaced pass
Frank Lampard reveals regret over Billy Gilmour’s Chelsea breakthrough
Fifa block summer transfers for out-of-contract stars and consider third transfer window
The former Chelsea midfielder, who was signed by Mourinho a matter of months before his exit, told The Athletic: “I never felt that tension or thought he was in trouble.
“There were a few games before, you could see things in the press and it really bubbled up. But you didn’t feel it on the inside. The players were all united, no one was turning against him, he hadn’t lost the dressing room.
“The day he went, I was driving my wife to the airport and the news came on the radio. I just thought, ‘Sh*t, he’s gone. What’s going to happen?’ We were then all called into a meeting at Cobham.
“It was awkward when Jose came to say his goodbyes. You could have heard a pin drop. It felt like someone had died. When you see strong characters like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry either crying on the floor or certainly welling up… I got upset as well. It was really weird.”
Sidwell played in just 25 games for Chelsea across a one-season stay and he was thrilled to be offered the chance to join the Blues, but faced competition for places and was surprisingly handed the No.9 shirt upon his arrival.
He added on that call: “Mourinho was sitting there at the front and he says, ‘Steve, you’re going to wear No. 9 this year.’
“Every player who joins a new club looks at the numbers available and I’d seen the numbers 9, 14 and others that went upwards from there. I just assumed I may get the No. 14 at a push.
“I didn’t know whether he was just testing me. If I said, ‘No thanks’ it would look like I had a weakness in my mentality. If I say ‘Yes’, it may have been that he was only joking. But I thought at least I’d then show him I had the balls to wear it. So I said ‘Yes’ and it turned out he was being serious.
“When I told people, my mates and family, everyone was just laughing. Obviously the number has a lot of history relating to top centre-forwards and that wasn’t me. I went on to score one goal for Chelsea.
“Looking back on why he may have made that decision now, I think he was sending a statement upstairs, to the board.
“That summer he had wanted more money to spend on transfers – but he’s brought in me, Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro on free transfers. The only big buy was Florent Malouda. Why didn’t he give Pizarro – a striker – the No. 9? I reckon he was making a point by giving it to a free transfer from Reading.”
