It was in the California heat that Jose Mourinho built the first great Chelsea side of the Roman Abramovich era. Countless hours were spent on the training pitches at UCLA in the summer of 2004 in which the self-proclaimed Special One forged an unbreakable bond with his players that carried them to back-to-back Premier League titles.
Such was the success of the trip that America – and specifically Los Angeles – became Mourinho's go-to location for pre-season training camps. He took Chelsea back twice, oversaw visits with Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and in the summer of 2017, brought out Manchester United to the West Coast.
"Here [at UCLA], we have everything," Mourinho told the LA Times that summer. "The facilities are very good. The organization is very good. Since 2004 I am still searching for the first mistake, but the first mistake has never arrived. It's amazing.
