Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea youth debuts: Where are they now?

Jose Mourinho parried questions about his youth development policy by claiming to have given 55 youngsters their first team debut, including 10 Chelsea youth players during his 2004-07 tenure. What ever happened to those 10?

Jose Mourinho dominated the headlines after his first official press conference for Manchester United. Apart from the obligatory snipe at Arsene Wenger and pronouncements that he would Make Manchester United Great Again, Mourinho also laid a whopper on long-time Chelsea watchers.

‘You know how many players I promoted to the first team (at other clubs)?,” Mourinho asked the assembled media. “Forty-nine. Forty-nine.”

The Daily Mail reported that Mourinho was “visibly annoyed” at having to bring up the topic, and “bristled when challenged over his record of bringing young players through into the first team at other clubs.”

"Do you want to know who they are? Forty-nine. Forty-nine. If anyone is interested, I can give you that."

Mourinho later obliged, providing those 49 names along with six more that he claims to have promoted from within at his clubs over the years. Among the 55 were ten Chelsea youth players from 2004-2007, and another seven from his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho took a liberal interpretation of giving players their debut, exemplified by Arjen Robben’s inclusion on Mourinho’s list. Robben arrived at Chelsea after scoring 102 goals in Netherlands’ Eredivisie over four seasons with Groningen and PSV Eindhoven. Robben was PSV’s co-player of the year and talented player of the year in 2002/03. He even earned a cap for the Netherlands at Euro 2004.

But because he arrived at Chelsea as an Under-21, Mourinho takes credit for his first team debut.

Robben is now an international star at Bayern Munich. The other Mourinho debutantes from the 2004-07 era at Chelsea have not fared as well. What ever happened to the rest?

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