Graham Potter has already hailed the role that Jose Mourinho has played in his coaching career after being confirmed as Chelsea’s new manager.
The Englishman was announced as Thomas Tuchel's successor at Stamford Bridge on Thursday afternoon after former club Brighton gave the Blues permission to discuss terms. Potter has become the first manager to be appointed by Todd Boehly after the American made the shock decision to relieve Tuchel of his duties.
Whilst he has earned plaudits for his fantastic work with Ostersunds, Swansea and, of course, Brighton, Potter has hailed Jose Mourinho for playing a crucial role in his development. The 47-year-old observed the Portuguese’s work at close quarters whilst he was the manager of Real Madrid.
As quoted by The Athletic, Potter said: “I got lucky. I had a friend who was an agent in Spain. We were able to watch a training session. Cristiano Ronaldo was there at that point.
“You could tell it was a high-level, top-quality training session - how he [Mourinho] prepared the team in terms of what he wanted to see from an attacking perspective but at the same time, kept it enjoyable.
“The finishing at the end, you could see the level of players. Ronaldo just didn’t miss. It was an eye-opener. At the time, we were in Sweden, second tier I think, so it was some difference.
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“When Mourinho first came to the UK, he was a breath of fresh air. He’s not from the bottle, that ‘Special One’. At the time, it felt like he really was, it was incredible what he achieved. Going to Italy and winning there, obviously a different way of doing it, but did it.
“Real Madrid, as well, to break the dominance of that Barcelona team was fantastic. Both of those [Pep Guardiola and Mourinho] were influential in different ways.”
Potter will certainly be hoping to continue his upwards trajectory at Chelsea and has big shoes to fill if he is to match the achievements of one of his managerial inspirations. Across two spells at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho lifted three Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup.
As it stands, though, Chelsea appear unlikely to challenge for silverware having endured a frustrating start to the new season. The Blues have lost three out of their seven matches in all competitions and sit sixth in the Premier League table - already five points behind leaders Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Brighton have enjoyed an excellent start to the new campaign, only losing one out of their opening six league fixtures to leave themselves fourth.
