Chelsea's Jose Mourinho Better Placed for Success Than Carlo Ancelotti at Real

He may have seen his team finish on the losing side for the first time since his return to Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho shouldn't be too concerned with the Blues' 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid this week.

The Guinness International Champions Cup final was a good measure of where Chelsea are right now. The Blues are not quite where their Portuguese leader would like them to be, although they are becoming a fine-tuned outfit that doesn't look too far off from enjoying a successful campaign.

Wednesday's outing wasn't your average preseason fare. No, facing Madrid came with a long list of subplots for Chelsea and their manager, including the fact that Mourinho was coming face-to-face with many of the players with whom he so publicly fell out while Madrid's boss last season.

More interestingly, however, it gave supporters and commentators alike the opportunity to compare the fortunes of both managers in either dugout.

On one side was Mourinho, returning to Stamford Bridge a hero this summer, and on the other, Carlo Ancelotti, a man who not so long ago warmed the very seat his counterpart is now filling.

In a somewhat prolonged, roundabout way, the pair have played out an unconventional game of musical chairs, eventually finding themselves occupying jobs the other lost not so long ago.

Since being fired by Chelsea in 2011, Ancelotti has rebuilt his career in France with Paris Saint-Germain, taking the Parisian club to the Ligue 1 title last term before joining Real. Having won a Premier League and FA Cup double with the Blues in 2010, that title adds to a growing list of managerial successes for the Italian.

If he thinks he's onto a better deal in Madrid, however, he best think again.

Sure, Chelsea is a club not without its problems—a fact which Ancelotti witnessed firsthand during his two years at the helm—but the former AC Milan manager has inherited a different beast altogether at the Bernabeu.

Whereas Mourinho's return to the Blues has instantly rejuvenated the club, reinstalling a feeling of harmony after successive managerial failures, Ancelotti has a bigger job on his hands.

To say Madrid's dressing room was fractured last year is an understatement, and their new manager is tasked with not only reuniting the club in the aftermath of Mourinho's reign, but dealing with star player Cristiano Ronaldo, who it seems is feeling particularly unloved with the ongoing pursuit of Gareth Bale.

"I have my opinion about Bale, but I will not go public with it", he said in a press conference this week (via Goal.com). "These kind of issues are not my responsibility. I do not talk about new signings or player issues."

The proverb tells of how first impressions count, and to make the right one in the Spanish capital, Ancelotti needs Ronaldo on his side—and quick. He's not just the club's best player, he's Real's main source of goals and their creative hub. Without him, the new manager is going to find life very difficult indeed.

As if to reinstate his importance to the Madrid cause, Ronaldo scored twice against Chelsea to prove the difference on Wednesday. Yet the longer reports circulate linking Tottenham Hotspur's Bale with a £100 million transfer, how vulnerable will the Portuguese begin to feel?

In contrast, the harmonious atmosphere at Chelsea continues. Rather than ignoring the club's pursuit of their own marquee signing in Wayne Rooney this summer, Blues players have been eager to publicly sound his praises.

Petr Cech was quoted in The Guardian applauding the club's desire to land the Manchester United man, while Ashley Cole soon followed suit in The Sun.

It suggests a dressing room that is pulling in one direction, while the very problems that eventually cost Mourinho his job remain prevalent at the Bernabeu.

In his first spell at Chelsea, Mourinho achieved so much success with a team young in age and experience. It's a similar setup now, and one where the players are willing to buy into his methods in order to achieve the success they so crave.

With players who have won World Cups and league titles already, Ancelotti may find it that a little bit more difficult in the Spanish capital.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here: @garryhayes