Jose Mourinho harked back to his departure from Chelsea in 2007 by describing his new squad as 'young, beautiful eggs.'
The Blues boss left Stamford Bridge after a Champions League group stage draw with Rosenborg, complaining after the match about the quality of his players, saying they were not 'Waitrose eggs'.
But the Portuguese believes in his current crop, who kick off their Champions League campaign with Wednesday night's clash with Basle at Stamford Bridge - six years to the day of the Rosenborg game.
All smiles: Jose Mourinho compared his Chelsea squad to 'young, beautiful eggs'
Man with a plan: Mourinho put his 'eggs' through their paces ahead of the Champions League clash with Basle
When asked what kind of eggs he had at his disposal now, Mourinho said: 'Beautiful, young eggs. Eggs that need a Mum - in this case, a Dad - to take care of them, to keep them warm during the winter, to bring the blanket and work and improve them.
'One day the moment will arrive when the weather changes, the sun rises, you break the eggs and the eggs are ready to go for life at the top level.
'It's important for the club, for everybody, it's important for a team of kids, not just kids but a team that for example will tomorrow start the match with four players under 22, and if you think as we think in the club, in the evolution of the players and the team, it's very important for them to play on the big stage, and the big stage is the Champions League.
Despite the ongoing presence of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech, the Blues have a much younger team than the one Mourinho left.
Spring chicken: Key player Eden Hazard, in training ahead of Wednesday's clash, is still 22
Hair today: David Luiz (left) and new signing Willian prepare for the Blues' first Champions League match
Fighting fit: Fernando Torres (centre), and his Chelsea team-mates are looking to kick-start their season
Key players like Eden Hazard and Oscar are 22 or younger, with first-team regulars like Andre Schurrle and Kevin de Bryune also in that age bracket.
Mourinho - who confirmed Oscar and Lampard would return to the midfield for the Basle game - also admitted he is dreaming of ending his unfinished business with Chelsea in the competition.
While Chelsea ended their Champions League hoodoo in 2012 and Mourinho won the compeition with Porto and Inter Milan, the Portuguese is still to win the trophy at Stamford Bridge.
'The important thing is that Chelsea had a dream and it became true two years ago,' he said.
THE BEST OF MOURINHO
'Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.'
Mourinho at his Chelsea unveiling in 2004, leading to a long-surviving nickname...
'The dog is fine in Portugal - that big threat is away - you don’t have to worry about crime any more'
After the police questioned him over whether his dog had a pet passport...
'Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. He is someone who likes to watch other people.
'There are some guys who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to look into the homes of other people and see what is happening. Wenger must be one of them - and it is a sickness'
Taunting Arsene Wenger for talking about the Blues...
‘If Roman Abramovich helped me out in training we would be bottom of the league and if I had to work in his world of big business, we would be bankrupt!’
Describing his relationship with Chelsea's owner...
'No eggs, no omelette. And it depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket, you have eggs class one, class two, class three.
'Some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem'
The original 'eggs' rant after the Rosenborg game...
Mourinho at his Chelsea unveiling in 2004, leading to a long-surviving nickname...
'The dog is fine in Portugal - that big threat is away - you don’t have to worry about crime any more'
After the police questioned him over whether his dog had a pet passport...
'Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. He is someone who likes to watch other people.
'There are some guys who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to look into the homes of other people and see what is happening. Wenger must be one of them - and it is a sickness'
Taunting Arsene Wenger for talking about the Blues...
‘If Roman Abramovich helped me out in training we would be bottom of the league and if I had to work in his world of big business, we would be bankrupt!’
Describing his relationship with Chelsea's owner...
'No eggs, no omelette. And it depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket, you have eggs class one, class two, class three.
'Some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem'
The original 'eggs' rant after the Rosenborg game...
Stretching out: Mourinho watches his players train in preparation for the match
Pushing for a place: Juan Mata (left) and Demba Ba walk out for training at the club's Cobham complex
Scrambled: Mourinho complained about his 'eggs'
after his last match in his first spell at Chelsea, a 1-1 Champions
League draw with Rosenborg, with John Terry (left) battling Yssouf Kone
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