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Analyst, TSN Radio 690 Montreal

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Even with the  privacy and seclusion at the core of Chelsea’s visit to Montreal as they conduct their closed-to-the-media preseason training camp at the Impact’s practice facility, there still isn't a dull or lonely moment for José Mourinho.  

Even with a squad brimming with world-class talent it is the Chelsea manager who gets and receives the most attention. Back home every move he makes, every word he utters is overanalyzed and overthought by the media and public alike in their insatiable hunger and desire to get closer and better understand what makes Mourinho tick. A football manager in every sense whose undeniable qualities on and off the field of play are not lost on Chelsea captain John Terry, who described Mourinho earlier in the week as the very best there is.

When he leaves the team’s hotel to go for an afternoon stroll during the double sessions, he acts as the perfect distraction and foil for his players, who've been based in Montreal since July 15. The Pied Piper of Stamford Bridge has the legions of fans amassed by the hotel entrance following his every move. Posing for photographs and signing autographs, Mourinho takes most in stride and does so with a quiet aplomb and a complete absence of aloofness, something of which he has been accused of and criticized for since landing at Heathrow and launching "The Special One" persona back in June 2004. 

Only a month after Mourinho had been introduced as Chelsea’s new manager, he took his squad - one where close to $500 million had been lavished on it since Roman Abramovich had taken ownership of Chelsea just over a year previously - on their very first preseason US tour together.

Playing friendlies against Celtic, Roma and AC Milan where they won two and lost one, Mourinho’s debut season in the Stamford Bridge dugout culminated in a very first league triumph for Chelsea in exactly 50 years and their first title during the Premier League era.

Chelsea returned stateside for the 2005 preseason, where likely due to a Mourinho request, the West London club opened that tour against the only club who beat them in 2004, AC Milan, who they duly beat 1-0 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Earlier in the week, I asked Mourinho what it was like in those early days and comparisons to what it is like now a decade later.

“In 2004 we could walk in the streets, and most of the people didn’t know who we are," Mourinho told TSN.ca. "That’s the reality. In 2005, we could feel a little bit of difference because in 2005 we were champions, champions of England.”

Things, naturally, are much different now.

”Chelsea in this last decade, it has been a big change for the club - four Premier League titles, one Champions League and lots of cups,” he said.

That unprecedented success on the pitch for Chelsea over this time is almost perfectly correlated with the business off the pitch. Abramovich purchased Chelsea for a reported £140 million ($280 million) in July of 2003. Two months ago, Forbes valued Chelsea at over $1.7 billion. This figure represents a more than six-fold increase on the 48-year-old Russian’s original investment - a most extraordinary rate of return even by Warren Buffett standards.

Over this same period, the Barclays Premier League continues to grow like no other sports league on the planet. It appears to be fully immune from the economic crisis that has affected most of Europe - these past five years, especially - and the recent freefall in the price of oil, which has had such deep and negative effects on the Canadian economy.

The BPL might be located in England, but in terms of jersey sponsors, only five of the 20 clubs are partnered with UK-based companies, whilst the other 75 per cent are linked up with a myriad of companies from right across the globe.

In Chelsea’s case, this upcoming 2015-16 season heralds the start of a new partnership with Yokohama. It’s no coincidence that it was Mourinho along with Terry who represented Chelsea at the official unveiling of Yokohama at Stamford Bridge in February. This deal will reportedly will bring Chelsea £40 million ($80 million) per season and  £200 million ($400 million) over the initial five-year term.

As the BPL realized many years ago that it was reaching a point of saturation locally, it  recognized that opportunity in abundance laid overseas, much like the NFL and NBA have here in North America. This has not been lost on Mourinho, who has been in a prime position to observe all. 

“The globalization of the Premier League is amazing, and I think also for the passion for this game in the States and Canada,” Mourinho said.

Mourinho seems genuinely shocked by the fame and adulation he now receives on both sides of the border. He had thought that nobody knew him.

“If people know me, it’s because they like their football," he said. "There is no other reason.”

As all the big European clubs have done their utmost to answer that billion-dollar question of how to grow their brands in overseas markets across the world, the US - and to a far lesser degree, Canada - remains central to it all.  Witnessing over the past week Chelsea’s approach to how they conduct themselves, it is abundantly clear the strategy is as low-key and minimalist as it gets.

The Blues haven't rolled out any partnerships, like Manchester United’s now infamously ill-fated one which they announced with the New York Yankees back in February of 2001. Shares in Manchester United increased in value by 10 per cent the day it was announced, with  the expectation that it would add tens of millions to the bottom line at Old Trafford. It did not and the partnership fizzled out with New York City FC, run by the same ownership group as bitter rivals City, now playing home games at Yankee Stadium.

On this current tour, nothing which disrupts or distracts from the primary focus of proper preparation for the rigours of yet another demanding season is permitted. Mourinho admitted in the week that, outside of the results in the three matches Chelsea will play in the US, he controlled just about everything else.

There was no ritzy spectacle or elaborate affair as the club unveiled its new jersey the day after arriving in Montreal. Chelsea’s sole public appearance to date occurred almost a week after their arrival when a few players took part in an event in New York staged by the Chelsea Foundation in conjunction with their partner club FC Harlem. This typifies Chelsea’s long term approach - it was on the 2012 US tour that the seeds for this week’s event were sown.

Although Mourinho let it be known in the pre-match press conference for Saturday’s encounter with Paris Saint-Germain - a win on penalties in Charlotte -  that he didn’t speak with his players after their resounding 4-2 defeat to the Red Bulls Wednesday evening. Mourinho felt that there was no point in stating the obvious. He will be expecting significant improvements during the two remaining matches in the US before the squad arrive back in London the morning of July 29.

On August 2, the curtain is lifted on the new season when Chelsea takes on Arsenal, the reigning FA Cup champions, in the Community Shield from Wembley Stadium. Up against Arsene Wenger, you will be guaranteed that Mourinho will look to maintain his perfect record against the Frenchman, with Mourinho unbeaten in 13 matches to date since he first walked through those century-old Stamford Bridge gates over 11 years ago.

Much has changed over this time at Chelsea, but just he has done since arriving in Montreal, Mourinho can still on the odd occasion be spotted strolling amongst the locals - fame and fortune the furthest thing from his mind.    

Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca 
@TheSoccerNoel on Twitter