Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta sends message to Jose Mourinho following his appointment at rivals Tottenham

Jose Mourinho

Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta says he wishes his former manager Jose Mourinho well at Tottenham.

Mourinho was appointed as Spurs boss on Wednesday following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino the previous day.

The north Londoners are the third Premier League club Mourinho has taken charge of, following two spells at Chelsea and one at Manchester United.

The Portuguese won three Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge, with Azpilicueta a part of the side that triumphed in 2014/15.

And the Spanish right-back admits he has many "good memories" with his former boss.

"I can talk only about when Jose was here at Chelsea with us," the Spanish defender told Sky Sports. "We won trophies and now football moves on, every time it’s different.

"I can wish him all the best even if he goes to our rival. We have good memories with him and I played many times against him.

"Obviously when we play against each other we both want to win for our teams, but this is football."

Petr Cech, who played under Mourinho during both of his spells at Chelsea, echoed Azpilicueta's thoughts.

But the former goalkeeper, who returned to west London in the summer to work as Chelsea's technical and performance advisor, stressed that the Blues are fully focused on their own ambitions.

"Only time will tell, but I think it's great for the Premier League to have the personality of Jose Mourinho, one of the most successful coaches in the past 15 years, back in the Premier League," Cech said. 

"We wish him well but we have our targets and we have to concentrate on our goals during the season, and we will see how it's going to finish."

Mourinho took charge of his first Tottenham training session on Wednesday as his new team prepare for this weekend's clash with West Ham at the London Stadium.

READ MORE

Long read: The making of Jose Mourinho – how did he go from 'the translator' to 'the Special One’?

For Jose Mourinho to prove he is not an anachronism in the modern game, he’ll have to turn back the clock at Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham really did prove that trophies are not the only measure of success

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).