José Mourinho’s first spell in charge at Chelsea proved to be the most successful three-year spell in the club’s history. Even since his departure, only Roberto Di Matteo’s Champions League win in 2012 has outdone any of the work by the ‘Special One’.

During his first spell at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho guided the Blues to their first-ever Premier League title in 2005 and only the second top flight title in the club’s history. He retained the title the following season before finishing runners-up to Manchester United in 2006-07.

After leaving Chelsea early in the 2007-08 campaign, José Mourinho went on to have success with Internazionale (2x Serie A, 1x Champions League, 1x Coppa Italia) before an unsuccessful three-year stint at Real Madrid that did see him overcome Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona for 1 La Liga title, as well as winning the Copa del Rey in his first season.

There was no doubt that back in 2004 José Mourinho took the Premier League by storm. Arsenal were just coming off of their unbeaten season and whilst Manchester United were in a transition period, the Portuguese manager suffered just one loss throughout his debut season (1-0 to Kevin Keegan’s Manchester City) after taking 20 points from his first 8 games in charge.

Chelsea ran away with the league by 12 points in 2004-05, conceding a record low 15 goals. Mourinho’s second season saw his side win the league by 8 points before Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to give him a proper challenge the following season, guiding Manchester United to their then 16th English league title.

José Mourinho has the highest win percentage in Premier League history amongst managers to have been in charge for at least one season. Here is a breakdown of his Premier League record:

José Mourinho’s head-to-head record in the Premier League is as follows:

100% – José Mourinho has faced Portsmouth the most (7 games) of the teams he has a 100% win record against

29% – José Mourinho’s lowest win percentage has come against Aston Villa

25 – José Mourinho has beaten all 25 teams he has faced in the Premier League

16 – José Mourinho remains unbeaten against 16 of the 25 teams he has faced as Chelsea manager

14 – José Mourinho’s Chelsea scored the most goals against Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and Portsmouth

10 – José Mourinho has a 100% win record against 10 different Premier League teams

7 – Fulham scored the most goals against José Mourinho’s Chelsea

4 – José Mourinho has a win percentage of greater than 50% against all but 4 teams he has faced. Arsenal (33%), Aston Villa (29%), Manchester United (50%) and Newcastle United (50%) have all avoided defeat in at least half of their Premier League matches versus the Chelsea manager

2 – Middlesbrough are the only team to have beaten José Mourinho on more than one occasion in the Premier League

0 – No team has won at least as many games as they have lost against José Mourinho

José Mourinho head-to-head record against opposition managers

The Chelsea manager faced 32 different managers during his first spell in charge. His record versus each of those is as follows:

100% – José Mourinho has faced Harry Redknapp on more occasions (5 games) of managers he has a 100% win record against

14 – José Mourinho has a 100% win record against 14 of the 32 managers he has faced

14 – Chris Coleman and Mark Hughes’ sides conceded more goals against José Mourinho’s Chelsea than any other side

7 – Chris Coleman has seen his side score more goals against José Mourinho’s Chelsea in the Premier League than any other manager.

4 – 40% of José Mourinho’s Premier League defeats have come against English managers

3 – Stuart Pearce’s Manchester City failed to score a single goal, losing all three meetings

1 – Martin O’Neill is the only manager to have beaten José Mourinho more times in the Premier League than he has lost

0 – Martin O’Neill is the only manager José Mourinho has faced but not beaten in the Premier League

José Mourinho’s biggest Premier League win was a 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers on 15 October 2005. His side also beat Blackburn Rovers 4-0. His biggest victory in all competitions was a 6-1 win over Paul Ince’s Macclesfield Town in the 3rd round of the 2006-07 FA Cup.

Steve McClaren handed José Mourinho his biggest defeat in the Premier League as his Middlesbrough side thrashed Chelsea 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium on February 11 2006. Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa (2-0) and Rafa Benítez’s Liverpool (2-0) were the only other sides to have recorded victories by more than 1 goal in the Premier League.

José Mourinho’s record vs the top 4

The Chelsea manager was very successful against the top 4 finishing sides in each of his first two seasons as they went on to win the title. Winning just one of six matches against the other top 4 finishing sides during 2006-07 saw the Blues finish 6 points behind champions Manchester United.

The Premier League welcomes back José Mourinho for the 2013-14 Premier League season in the same summer that both fellow title favourites Manchester United and Manchester City have also changed their manager. Are we in for the most competitive season at the top?