Mourinho and Chelsea revel in trophy afterglow

If the past is anything to go by, Chelsea FC look set for some high times. As the Blues lifted the English League Cup on Sunday and José Mourinho celebrated his first trophy since returning to the club, memories flooded back of his maiden triumph in the English game – and how that served as a springboard to further success.

Five points clear in the Premier League and eyeing a UEFA Champions League quarter-final spot, Chelsea have ambitions aplenty this season, and the hope now is that their 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur FC has a similar impact to their 2005 League Cup victory. That proved a catalyst to a sparkling era, and Mourinho felt a similar surge of emotion on Sunday.

"Before the game, I had the same feelings as my first final and it's important for me to feel the same happiness as that victory," he explained, fresh from collecting the 17th major trophy of his career. "It's important for me to feel like I'm a kid of 15."

Leaping to the Wembley turf during the celebrations, the 52-year-old clearly revelled in the occasion, with another piece of silverware added to his CV and fuelling the desire for more. "I know that I have a team to build, which we are doing, but I feed myself with titles," he explained. "I need to feel myself win titles."

Titles also help build teams, and Chelsea's 2005 League Cup success is widely acknowledged as having helped forge a winning mentality during Mourinho's initial stint, which led to a pair of league crowns, an FA Cup and another League Cup victory.

The club hardly lost that after Mourinho left in September 2007 – most notably snaffling the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League – but captain John Terry feels Sunday's win could be another defining moment.

Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-0 at Wembley©Getty Images

"It's the first trophy this season and it's massive. It could be the start of something very good," noted the defender, who scored the opening goal against Spurs and is a veteran of that final against Liverpool FC ten years ago. "The manager made it clear from the outset we were out to win this competition."

Victory could also have served as a significant spur for Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino, but the Argentinian manager was left to take comfort from the fact that his players performed well on the day. "We were better than Chelsea and we were unlucky with the goals we conceded," he said. "I'm disappointed for us but proud of the players."

Appointed in the summer, Pochettino is overseeing a building process of his own, and he is confident that he has the raw materials to prosper with the north London club. "We are a young squad – about 23-years-old on average. We will play a lot of finals in the future. It's always important to play in finals and I need to improve as a manager too."