Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho Must Keep the Faith with Fernando Torres

In his autobiography, Totally Frank, Frank Lampard recalls an encounter with Jose Mourinho not long after he was appointed Chelsea manager in 2004.

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I was last in the shower and turning to leave when I was stopped in my tracks by the manager. There was a moment of silence as I waited for him to move, but he looked me in the eye and I realized he had something to say.

'You are the best player in the world,' he said, without blinking. I was slightly confused as well as completely naked. Talk about feeling vulnerable.

'You,' he said more forcefully, 'are the best player in the world.' [...] I felt a massive surge in confidence. I was walking on air for the rest of that day.

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The season that followed was the making of Lampard. He was already a talent, but under Mourinho he became world-class. In 2004/05—Mourinho's first year in England—he scored 22 goals in all competitions for club and country, followed by 23 the following season. In fact, up to the 2010/11 campaign, the Englishman bagged 20 goals or more every year.

Now, there's much more to Lampard's game than finding the back of the net, but Mourinho's bold words and coaching unlocked an asset that may have otherwise remained elusive.

Which brings us to Fernando Torres.

From reports by John Cross of the Mirror this week, it seems a similar process to help him return to former glories is already underway.

All summer, stories of Chelsea's desire to land another striker have resulted in rumors Torres will be departing Stamford Bridge.

Apparently he's been a transfer target for Arsenal (via the Mirror), has been tracked by Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli (via the Express), and was also going to be a make-weight in a rumored bid for AC Milan's Stephan El Shaarawy (via ITV Sport).

Yet here he is, still in West London with his new manager apparently making clear to him that his immediate future remains in Chelsea blue.

If that's the case, it's an inspired move from Mourinho.

Ignore the stories of his demise, that Torres has lost his killer instinct and is no longer a threat. He's none of those things—quite the opposite. The player Chelsea paid £50 million for two years ago is about to pay back that investment.

It's a bold statement, sure, but 23 goals last term—in a season where he remained an easy target for negative headlines and criticism—show a player who is returning to his best. His sublime solo effort in the Europa League final against Benfica gave us notice of that. It's all come on the back of that valuable commodity Lampard vividly describes in his book—confidence.

Is it too simple to suggest that's all Torres has been lacking at Chelsea? Yes, it is, but it doesn't make it any less true.

We've seen how devastating he can be with Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Spain. He's even done it in a Chelsea shirt at times, yet with four managers before Mourinho and the ghost of Didier Drogba lurking, his Blues career has often been in troubled waters for various reasons.

Rather than Mourinho's arrival spelling the end for Torres at Chelsea, however, it's an opportunity for an almighty renaissance. If ever there was a manager and player combination that would work, it's Mourinho and his Spanish striker.

Mourinho's techniques will have Torres walking on the very air Lampard did almost a decade ago. In return, the No. 9 will score the goals that restore his manager's reputation among Europe's elite after a patchy season with Real Madrid.

It's not like we're imagining the impossible—he's scored goals everywhere he has played, even at Chelsea last season when Rafa Benitez began the process of rebuilding Torres' self-belief.

Now it's Mourinho's turn. And as we've seen so many times in the past, there's no better coach than the Portuguese in ensuring his players become winners.

With faith and time, we'll be adding Torres to that list of Mourinho success stories.