Mourinho tempts fate by return to old love Chelsea

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reacts after their English Premier League soccer match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, London in a May 6, 2007 file photo. Jose Mourinho has returned for a second stint as Chelsea manager, the English club said in a statement on Monday.REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

LONDON (Reuters) - On his first day at Chelsea nearly nine years ago, Jose Mourinho declared himself "a special one" and he will have to do something rather special on his return there to disprove the old adage that you should never go back.

Time and again, managers who have returned for a second, or even in rare cases, a third or fourth spell at their old English clubs have failed to achieve what they did first time around.