In August 2014, shortly after Russian-backed rebels shot down Malaysian Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine killing all 298 people on board, a journalist at the regular Friday afternoon Chelsea FC press conference asked Jose Mourinho, then Chelsea’s manager, a question. It was the start of the season, the pitches on the Cobhan training ground that Roman Abramovich had built were green and lush. It was the season of promise and expectation. The previous questions had been the boilerplate sports journalists’ lot about hunger and desire. Someone might have asked if there were “any knocks”. This question was different. “Given the…

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