The highly-rated Porto midfielder was an outstanding performer for his country at Euro 2004 this summer and arguably scored the goal of the tournament in the semi-final against Holland, curling a stunning shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Yet it is unlikely the 26-year-old would even have been at the tournament was it not for the intervention of Mourinho.

The new Chelsea manager quickly spotted the player's potential during his three-month spell in charge of Benfica in late 2000.

And when Mourinho was appointed by Porto in January 2002 after a successful six-month stint at unfashionable União Leiria he wasted no time in signing his former charge from the Lisbon club.

From then on, the story is well documented. Porto went on to win two league titles, the domestic cup, the Portuguese Supercup, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League in two glorious seasons.

Unsurprisingly, Maniche feels indebted to the manager who has helped bring him so much professional success.

He is also convinced that Abramovich chose wisely in inviting Mourinho to continue the Stamford Bridge revolution from where Claudio Ranieri left off.

"The past two years have been the best of my career," the player said. "Being guided by Mourinho has been a prize well deserving of all the Porto players.

"I'd go to any team with a boss like him as you know his way of understanding football is never going to change. He's been the best coach I've ever worked under and I won't try to hide it."

Mourinho's disciplined and studious approach to training, where moves are rehearsed until they are second nature, is now common knowledge - but Maniche says there is more to Mourinho than his ability to organise.

"One of his talents is the way he makes practice sessions interesting. It's an important factor as the majority of players don't like to train.

"He was always the first to get involved in the drills and that way nobody could lag behind."

Maniche highlighted the coach’s interpersonal skills, less commented on in the press than his perceived arrogance, as the attribute that made the most lasting impression on him. Mourinho possesses the all-important personal touch, the ability to relate to his players.

"What I really liked was that even during the tough times he drew alongside you," he said. "He became more of a friend than a boss. I've never seen that kind of closeness from another coach in all the years I’ve been a footballer.

"He makes his players feel confident," he explained. "In some ways, it was like he was just another one of us.

"We were so in tune with him that we only had to look at him when we were on the pitch and we knew what we were expected to do.

The whole package – he says – spells extremely good news for Chelsea.

"Personally, I feel really sorry for Porto that he's gone but I'm happy it was to move to such a big English club. All the players knew it was his dream to go to the Premiership.

"It will be difficult for him to win a tournament in his first year and it would be unfair to demand such an achievement of him as it's a massive challenge - but Mourinho is capable of anything. There's no question about that."