Azpilicueta and Cech react to Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham move

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Tottenham Hotspur have appointed former Chelsea hero Jose Mourinho as their new boss.

Well, the almost-unthinkable has happened; Jose Mourinho is now the manager of Tottenham Hotspur; words you couldn’t have imagined 15 years ago, 10 years ago, five years ago or probably even a year ago.

Mourinho was announced as Tottenham’s new manager on Wednesday morning, with Daniel Levy moving quickly to land a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino just hours after sacking him.

Mourinho returns to the Premier League after almost a year away, and it’s his fourth stint in England. His last spell, with Manchester United, came to an end in December of last year.

Before that though, he was of course best known for his time with Chelsea, where he won three Premier League titles across two spells with the club, before things turned a little sour in 2015.

Still, Mourinho is revered by many at Chelsea. That’s where ‘The Special One’ became a moniker, and it’s his links with the Blues that make his move to Tottenham such a surprise.

As flagged up by the Daily Mail, Mourinho claimed in 2015 that he could ‘never’ manage Tottenham. The rivalry between Chelsea and Spurs has only grown since then, so his move is a massive shock; even seeing him hold up a Spurs shirt at his presentation on Wednesday was a mind-boggling moment.

Tottenham meet Chelsea next month in a game that just got even more interesting, and two Blues men have now offered their views on their former boss heading to North London.

Defender Cesar Azpilicueta has told Sky Sports that he wishes Mourinho all the best despite him joining a rival, and will be looking to beat him when they meet, whilst former goalkeeper and current technical and performance advisor Petr Cech echoed those sentiments, believing his return is great for the Premier League.

“I can talk only when Jose was here at Chelsea with us,” said Azpilicueta. “We won trophies, and now football moves on. I wish him all the best even though he goes to a rival. I have good memories with him and I have played many times under him and against him. Obviously when we play against each other we both want to win for our teams – but this is football. I wish him well.”

“He’s a great manager and obviously it’s great for the Premier League to welcome back one of the most successful managers of the past 15 years, so obviously we wish him well,” added Cech.