Chelsea began a Portuguese revolution when Jose Mourinho was hired from FC Porto as their new manager back in 2004 and with it, the Champions League-winning coach set about building a squad capable of challenging for silverware both domestically and in continental competition. Little did he know, Tiago Mendes would play a crucial role for one season in Chelsea’s royal blue shirt before leaving his manager high and dry.
Armed with Roman Abramovich’s billions, Mourinho has recruited Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Ricardo Carvalho, Petr Cech and Paulo Ferreira for significant sums, spending £150 million on new signings. That might not seem like much these days, but if inflation is factored in, it would be somewhere in the diversity of Mauricio Pochettino’s £420 million spending this summer.
There was another call that surprised other people, and that guy, Tiago Cardoso Mendes, or “Tiago” for short. He is one of three Portuguese players who arrived alongside Mourinho, for a fee of around £12 million from Benfica. It’s a deal that sparked some excitement at Stamford Bridge, partly because Tiago was an unknown user outside of his home Portugal, but also because those who had heard of him knew he would be a smart addition, with 25 goals in 92 appearances for Benfica.
Honestly, some Premier League enthusiasts have completely forgotten about Tiago, apart from Manchester United, due to his short stay in London. He played as a regular at Chelsea, missed four league games and appeared 51 times in all competitions.
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By the time Chelsea visited Manchester United at Old Trafford, Mourinho and his devastating team had made their name with ease. Tiago had scored four goals in a pretty impressive season, but he was determined to make sure he kept the best. of his 4 goals to the end.
Quite what prompted him to try his luck from 35 yards is anyone’s guess. But with the freedom of Manchester afforded to him in a pocket of space, he took one touch and struck a thunderous effort that glided through the air before nestling in the top corner. Roy Carroll didn’t even bother diving as Old Trafford submerged into silence. If he could do that on a regular basis, he would win over the fans in no time.
In fact, the 23-year-old midfielder had a completely different plan. Few players tell Mourinho they are leaving the club and they do so with the Portuguese coach’s warm wishes, but that was the case when Tiago took his boss by surprise in a personal matter. Verbal exchange in July 2005, telling him that he wanted to leave his team the chance to participate in the 2006 World Cup.
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This day: 2005 – Tiago scored CE for #Chelsea (vs Man Utd). #CFC pic. twitter. com/UKcmeET1LT
“The deal is almost done. There are a few details to complete, that is all. But Tiago showed a lot of tears in front of the group yesterday. He is a wonderful boy and was a very good player for us. We will miss him – the player and the person,” Mourinho said.
“Yesterday he told me he was going to Lyon and probably wouldn’t come back. It was very emotional for everyone and everyone was disappointed. He did it in a very professional manner. He said, ‘Boss, I’m so sorry. ‘ Come on, I love it here, but I’m a pro and I need to play more times.
“Lyon’s proposal is also smart for Chelsea. He added that he would like to go through because it’s a World Cup year and it’s clear that the boy wanted to go through. There were a lot of clubs interested in him and he understood that “He’s not the first choice. Teams from England, Spain and Portugal were interested in him, but he decided to move to Lyon and we wish him the best of luck. “
But Chelsea did well without him. Just a few months later, Michael Essien signed with the French club for a £26 million contract and established himself as an icon in his nine-year contract with the club. Tiago, meanwhile, began to travel to clubs all over Europe.
His time at Lyon lasted just two seasons before he signed for Juventus in 2007, when the Serie A giants rebuilt their squad following the Calciopoli scandal. But after 48 appearances and no goals, he opted to come home with Atletico Madrid. an initial loan, before signing for the Rojiblancos in 2011 on a permanent contract.
He discovered his calling in Vicente Calderón, a valuable member of Diego Simeone’s team, and played 220 games for the Spanish team. He won the La Liga title in 2013-14 to add medals in English and French championships to his record and hung up his boots in 2017 at the age of 36.
Immediately after retiring, Tiago spent a year as an assistant to former coach Simeone before moving on to work in Portugal as a youth coach. That prepared him for his first management test, signing a two-year contract with Vitoria Guimaraes. In 2020, however, he resigned after only 3 games in charge, having scored 4 points. More recently, he has been linked with jobs at Flamengo and Valencia B, but lately he is unemployed.
But his call lives on in west London. There may be another Thiago who has stolen their hearts (Thiago Silva’s exploits since his arrival three years ago have endeared him to enthusiasts), but Blues fans are still singing about Tiago’s years after his departure. Now, 19 years later, the Chelsea wonder of a season can be proud of what he achieved and the impact he made during his brief spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Tiago Song
Tiago, oh-oh!
Tiago, woah-oh!
He is from Portugal,
He hates Arsenal.
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