Chelsea's Mr. Motivator Jose Mourinho Reveals His Best Motivator—Himself!
Chelsea are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and are favorites to progress into the Champions League quarterfinals when they face Galatasaray in their last-16 tie next week.
Indeed, it has been a productive and successful return to Stamford Bridge for Jose Mourinho thus far, but what is the secret behind his success? It turns out that it's a rather simple one.
"We have a squad who hates to lose, who hates not to win and who gives everything to end every game with a positive feeling," Mourinho explains in the April edition of Chelsea magazine. "[The players] want to feel the emotion of winning every time they go to play."
One of the players who has been key to Chelsea's success in 2013-14 has been Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta, whose form has been so impressive he has dislodged Ashley Cole as first-choice left-back.
"Cesar is an example of a player who works hard, every day, and who gives everything for the team," Mourinho adds.
"He trains hard, he proves himself in every game and he plays where the team needs him. He has the mentality that the team comes first, and this is very, very important because it pushes the rest of his teammates to do the same.
"It is this kind of player who makes a squad strong and I think you can see from his performance this season that Azpi is this kind of player."
Should Chelsea prove successful in lifting the Premier League trophy come May, it will be the club's fourth league crown in 10 years and Mourinho's third in English football.
It would be easy for him to rest on his laurels, but we can't expect that will happen anytime soon.
"I motivate myself," he declares. "My motivation is to do my job well, to prepare my team for each game the best I can. If I needed motivation, I would not be in this job [...] We are always motivated."
Read more from Jose Mourinho in this month's edition of Chelsea magazine, available to download on your tablet now at www.chelseafc.com/mobile
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.
