It was the 2005 League Cup triumph that really launched Jose Mourinho's first successful spell at Chelsea and he is at it again a decade on in his second coming at the club.
Mourinho may even have taken a huge step towards a second trophy on the same day, following the damaging defeat endured by Chelsea's title rivals, Manchester City, at Liverpool.
Although forbidden by Mourinho from trying to find out the final score from Anfield, Chelsea's players knew of City's demise after their goal-keeping coach, Silvinho Louro, revealed the result on the way to Wembley. Their day just got better and better.
At the final whistle, Mourinho punched the air elaborately; he knew how much this meant, this statement of intent individually and collectively. A coach inextricably associated with the accumulation of trophies was back in business with his first trophy since steering Real Madrid to La Liga in 2012.
Mourinho watched John Terry lead the players up, the captain followed by Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill, then the rest including Nemanja Matic, the suspended Serb who probably broke Terry's own record for changing into Chelsea kit in time for the trophy celebrations.
Terry shared the trophy-lifting -honours with Drogba. The League Cup was then passed along the line, being hoisted to the skies by player after player, until arriving at some of Chelsea's tracksuited youngsters. Izzy Brown politely chose not to lift it, instead passing it straight to Mourinho, who insisted that Brown and Andreas Christensen share the moment. If Mourinho is truly to establish a new blue order, such prospects need embracing. Chelsea need the path from the Academy to the first-team dressing room to become well-worn.
Mourinho, who has promised to give them a chance, then carried the trophy down to the pitch and across to the quickly assembled stage where the players were waiting. Mourinho placed the cup on the plinth, and then threw himself down in front as the photographers went into overdrive.
As Chelsea partied to their greatest hits, "One Step Beyond", "Blue is the colour" and "Blue Day", Mourinho signalled to his son, wearing a Willian 22 shirt, to have his picture taken with the players and the trophy. Chelsea fans loved it.
The vanquished had long departed, the fans to drown their sorrows, the players retreating to the dressing room, yet there were plenty of reasons for Spurs to be hopeful for the future. Youthful dynamism embodies Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino. Danny Rose and Eric Dier, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen should grow into a unit of genuine substance under Pochettino.
They never showed their true class here, never displayed the type of energy that accounted for Chelsea on New Year's Day. Maybe it was the lingering effects of a dispiriting trip to Florence in the Europa League. In reality, Kane and Eriksen failed to escape the tactical straitjacket they were ordered to try on by Mourinho. Chelsea were one step ahead as well as one step beyond.
Mourinho's tactics and team selection were spectacularly rewarded.
As usual Mourinho had people and pundits talking, initially over his response to Matic's suspension. Chelsea tweeted that Cahill was in central midfield but there was always the whiff of mind games in the air, and the quicker, more mobile Kurt Zouma started there, stifling Eriksen, playing with such maturity that -Mourinho even compared the 20?year-old to Marcel Desailly.
Cahill, meanwhile, partnered Terry in subduing Kane. The final had been previewed in some quarters as Kane versus Costa, and the rival forwards dominated the flags outside Wembley. As Kane was tamed by Chelsea's defence, Costa troubled Spurs'. He has proved an ideal recruit by -Mourinho, leading the line and giving Chelsea a cutting edge.
The Spaniard was not at his marauding best but he certainly made a nuisance of himself. Dier initially refused to be intimidated by Costa's presence, timing his first tackle well, sliding in to steer the ball away from under the striker's feet. Costa had a few words, Dier stood up to him but it was to prove the Spaniard's afternoon and a lesson for the promising young English centre-half, who was soon booked for fouling Costa.
Spurs were actually the more impressive before Terry scored just before the break. Eriksen drove a free-kick on to the bar. Kane had a low shot held by Petr Cech. Pochettino was on the edge of his technical area, urging his young players on. But they were up against a far more experienced, cannier side.
Costa was a handful in every sense, taking a look to check the exact whereabouts of Bentaleb, before pushing his hand in the midfielder's face. It was far from violent, more akin to feeling for a light-switch in the dark, but Liverpool's Lazar Markovic departed for a similar offence against Basel in the Champions League. Anthony Taylor, who largely handled the occasion well, was closeby but saw no offence.
The final was intriguing, rather than inspiring. Defensive stalwarts dominated: Zouma tracked back to end a run from Eriksen, then Cahill climbed above Kane to clear. This was classic Mourinho, devising a game-plan to negate the opponents' strengths and succeeding.
Typically, it was a defender who scored. When Nacer Chadli needlessly pulled back Branislav Ivanovic out wide in contesting a Terry pass, Willian whipped in the free-kick. The ball fell to Terry 10 yards out and he fired it back in right-footed, the ball clipping Kane and flying past Hugo Lloris. It was another reminder of the goalscoring edge provided by -Mourinho's backs; statisticians revealed that Chelsea defenders have now contributed 17 goals and 13 assists this season. Mourinho turned away and blew a couple of kisses to those in blue in the smart seats.
The half finished with Cahill testing Lloris. It could have finished on an even worse note for Spurs but Taylor failed to see Dier's foul on Costa. Tottenham tried to remain upbeat. Their official Twitter account posted a message of defiance, recalling a couple of previous wins over Chelsea: "A reminder that we were 1-0 down in 2008 and on New Year's Day.''
But then the heavens opened, the rain poured down, and the cloud over Spurs darkened further. Chelsea fans responded to the sight of Costa now running towards their end by chanting his name constantly.
Wembley especially reverberated to "Diego, Diego" after 57 minutes. Cesc Fabregas played the perfect pass, sending Costa down the inside-left channel. Walker tried to close Costa down but succeeded only in diverting the shot past Lloris. It was given as a Walker own-goal which annoyed Costa, who insisted loudly it was his.
A man in control, Mourinho was so relaxed that he sprayed a water bottle at a television camera. His opposing number, Pochettino, sent on Mousa Dembele, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado but they could not breach the thick blue line of Mourinho's defence. Few would bet against Mourinho collecting more trophies fol-lowing this re-acquaintance with the great love of his career - silverware.