Chelsea fans hail their heroes
Sunday, 22 May 2005 12:52Around 200,000 Chelsea fans turned out in their thousands to pay tribute to Jose Mourinho and his all-conquering squad today. In west London blue was the colour as the streets around Stamford Bridge were packed.
They turned the pavement into a sea of waving flags and many fans had waited patiently for the Premiership winners' open-top bus since early morning.
In 1955 wooden rattles and rosettes were the football accessories of choice when Chelsea last won the title, but these days it's shrill air horns, whistles and replica shirts.
Mourinho and his squad only jetted in from Korea late yesterday afternoon, following their 1-0 friendly win over Suwon Samsung Bluewings. But there were no obvious signs of jetlag, although plenty wore sunglasses to hide tired eyes from their adoring fans.
Mourinho admits he has never been a great fan of celebrations and he allowed his players to bask in the crowds glow, while standing quietly at the back of the bus with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
