The 5 best comeback campaigns, to give Jose some hope

Despite Chelsea’s miserable start to the season, don’t despair Blues fans - there may well be a light at the end of the long dark tunnel for Jose Mourinho’s side, which currently sits in 16th position in the English Premier League.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be hoping his side is capable of mounting a comeback of its own this season. Source: Getty Images

The World Game has gone back through the history of the beautiful game to find some of the best comeback stories after horror starts to campaigns.

1. Borussia Dortmund: 2014-2015

Dortmund produced a miraculous recovery after sitting rock bottom of the Bundesliga at various times before the Christmas break.

What ensued must give anyone hope – with the German side going on to record nine wins after the restart to not only escape the drop but secure a prized UEFA Europa League qualification spot - where it sits top of its group after two matchdays.

2. Western Sydney Wanderers: 2012-2013

The Wanderers pulled off one of the great Houdini acts two years ago after pulling themselves from a lowly eighth spot at round nine to claim the Premiers' Plate.

Despite Western Sydney falling at the last hurdle in the grand final to Central Coast Mariners, many will long remember its run that incredibly included just one loss in its last 19 outings before the decider.

3. Manchester United: 2001-2002

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side produced a topsy-turvy campaign to sink as low as ninth in December 2011 before leading the Premier League just seven weeks later on the back of some champagne performances from Ryan Giggs and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

However, United’s revival was extinguished after failing to win its last two matches and it finished third.

One thing is for certain - Mourinho would take third place in this point in time!

4. Barcelona: 2000-2001

Before the recent days of its dominance in La Liga on the back of Messi and co., Barcelona needed to dig deep just to secure a coveted UEFA Champions League spot in 2001.

In fact, after Barca slipped to ninth position a third of the way through the season, it was Brazilian legend Rivaldo who scored an outrageous bicycle kick in stoppage time on the final day of the season, that resulted in the club snatching fourth place and a ticket to the UCL.

5. Italy: 1982 FIFA World Cup

In probably one of the great comeback stories in football history, Italy meandered its way through the group stage of the finals in Spain to narrowly send Cameroon out of the tournament on goals for, after the sides were locked on three draws and a zero goal difference.

But from there, the Azzurri certainly hit their straps – going on to win their next four matches against Argentina, Brazil, Poland and West Germany, in the final.

So miracles do happen in football and Mourinho will be hoping that Roman Abramovich gives him enough time to turn things around and add another team to this list.