Filipe Luis the only person in the world not surprised by Chelsea's implosion

Filipe Luis might be from the future.  Or he's the proverbial canary in the coal mine.  Though I prefer to think he's from the future.  Time travel is the coolest!

Filipe left Atlético Madrid in 2014 after several years of sustained success (including the Spanish title in 2013-14), came to Chelsea for one year (during which we won a double and Atlético did nothing), and then headed back to Madrid to continue the good times.  While Atléti probably won't win anything this season — though they're only three points behind leaders Barcelona in the league and are still alive in the Champions League — Chelsea, as we're all far too painfully aware, tumbled off the edge of the cliff rather cartoonishly.

Not many, if any at all, expected such a dramatic implosion from the Champions of England.  But Filipe could see the writing on the wall thanks to Mourinho's methods.  Of course, since he's from the future, he knew this all along.

"Speaking about Mourinho is always controversial and there's always some intrigue surrounding him, but he is an awesome coach who tries to take the maximum from each and every one of his players."

"I think that's one of the reasons why he loses the dressing room sometimes. He asks so much of his players that some can't handle it for too long. In my case, we got along very well and he helped me when I wanted to rejoin Atletico. He's a very good coach. It's just a pity I wasn't able to convince him that I should start for Chelsea."

-Filipe Luis, source: FourFourTwo

In fairness, Didier Drogba also commented along similar lines when Mourinho's second era was in its death throes — though we sort of dismissed those views as mostly just book-selling tactics.  But perhaps there is something to all this, and certainly Jose's comments while he was still here, regarding serial winners and the like, would nicely fit into this perspective.

While this is all water under the bridge at this point — and something for Mourinho's next employers to think about — with Antonio Conte coming in, we have to keep an eye on it as well.  By all accounts, Conte's just as much of a hard-ass as Mourinho.  His methods are just as demanding.  The style of football, the approach to squad selection and the overarching principles of team building may be different, but in terms of commitment needed, it's very much the same.  So hopefully the squad, whoever will be left of them by next season, has had a nice rest over these past few months and the upcoming couple.  Because then, it will be time to get back to winning ways and stop being ess-star-star-awful.