In the away dressing room at Stamford Bridge before Thursday's historic win, Marco Silva told his players it had been 'too long' since Fulham fans had seen their team beat Chelsea in the top flight. Forty-five years even.
The wild celebrations that followed Rodrigo Muniz's 95th-minute winner in front of the Shed End summed up the raw emotions, with Silva channeling his inner Jose Mourinho and running down the touchline.
Silva called it Fulham's 'best Boxing Day' in decades, and it's hard to argue with that. They have had many of their highest highs in recent months. Under their Portuguese manager, Fulham are competing with the best in the Premier League. They are one point clear of the top five, which will likely be enough to secure a Champions League place in the expanded competition next season, and European football is back on the map for the first time since 2011.
The Cottagers are unbeaten against any of the top five in the top flight, beating Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle and drawing against Liverpool and Arsenal.
For a man who was dumped by Everton five years ago this month after just 18 months on Merseyside, competing in the Premier League has always been the dream.
Before Fulham, his last three jobs at Hull City, Watford and Goodison Park were all in England, but the sacking with the Toffees in 18th place left him devastated and the options no longer available.
It was June 2021 when Silva had packed his bags and was ready to head to Fenerbahce for a new challenge, but Shahid Khan, the American billionaire owner of Fulham, got in touch and shortly after, Silva met him on his superyacht 'Kismet' . which was docked in Cascais, just outside Lisbon.
In Arabic, the word 'Kismet' means the idea of fate. Fulham had just been relegated. Three years later they are flirting with the prospect of European football, while Everton, who Silva guided to eighth place in 2018/19, have not finished this high since.
It speaks volumes about Silva's desire to prove a point in English football that he took such a risk by accepting a job in the Championship.
A failure on the first question would certainly have led to a third sour exit in English football in the space of five years, but Silva's Fulham blew up in the second tier, scoring 106 goals in 46 games.
By securing two mid-table finishes since then (10th in 2022/23 and 13th in 2023/24), Fulham have established themselves and broken their run as a 'yo-yo club', despite losing star players Aleksandar Mitrovic and Joao Palhinha in successive seasons for the club. -record costs.
As one Fulham source says: 'He's a bloody good coach who prides himself on making players better.'
Of the 21 players signed since promotion, 15 have Premier League experience, including the likes of Alex Iwobi, Issa Diop, Timothy Castagne, Emile Smith Rowe and Joachim Andersen.
At Motspur Park, Fulham's training ground, 47-year-old Silva is the first person to enter and the last to leave. He follows all the workouts, which are known to be full of energy and the results are clear.
“He gives everyone that love and has an eye for detail,” says Iwobi. 'He treats everyone the same: from the players and physios to the people in the canteen. And he always demands the best.”
For Silva, fulfillment comes from fulfilling potential. The proof is in the pudding when it comes to his work and goes back to the beginning of his managerial career, when Silva, appointed at the age of 33 and coaching players just a few years older than him, managed a small side from Estoril from the second level of the Portuguese football club. football to fourth place in the Primeira Liga and to Europe.
Sporting Lisbon came calling, where he won the domestic cup but was bizarrely sacked for not wearing the official suit on match day, making way for Jorge Jesus – one of the most respected names in Portugal.
Silva moved to Olympiakos where they won 28 of their 30 matches and won the title by a whopping 30 points before taking up the Hull job in January 2017.
“Marco was big for me,” says Andy Robertson, who played under Silva at Hull for the five months he was there. “He made us all better when he came to Hull. Every week was different. He looked at every player his team played against and was able to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses.”
Now another left-back, Antonee Robinson, is flourishing under Silva; the American is one of the players of the season so far, with his six assists in the Premier League behind only Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka.
Silva is known for his meticulous attention to detail, from banning apple crumble to improving diets at Hull and leaving each player's individual statistics in their place on the training pitch the day after the match. As soon as the final whistle blows, preparation for the next match begins.
Players speak of an 'aura' around him because of the extremely high standards he sets.
For example, with Robinson – a player known for his athleticism – Silva was an example who told him that he hated it when he tried to run into space too early and then did not get the ball with the front foot, because this reduced the impact he could have on the forefoot. attack. His two assists at Anfield earlier this month illustrate this perfectly.
Defensively, Silva also sang his praises after impressive performances against Saka and Salah, the competition's two best right wingers. “Always very aggressive in a good way,” he said.
At Everton, Silva had brought in Lucas Digne and sold Robinson, but now he is one of the first names on the team sheet and Fulham face the challenge of keeping him. Liverpool and Manchester United have both been linked with the 27-year-old.
“When he first came to Fulham I thought, 'Oh, I know he doesn't like me, I'm going to have a bad time here,'” Robinson told Athletic earlier this year. 'But in the end it turned out to be the opposite. I feel like I've made great strides as a player. I owe him a lot.'
Alex Iwobi, who signed Silva for £35 million from Everton and a further £22 million from Fulham, is another player to flourish under him and credits the manager with giving him and his teammates the strength to be confident and giving them the freedom cares to express himself. “We feel like we are ready to fly and that together we can do anything,” says Iwobi.
The atmosphere and camaraderie within the team is described as 'incredible'. After being beaten 4-1 at home by Wolves in November, the players went to Paris to 'clear their heads' and have not lost since. After the 2-2 draw at Anfield this month, Silva took the team out for dinner.
“He is warm with the players and very honest, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do it because he is so emotional,” said a Fulham source. 'He always justifies something, even when it is not necessary, because he is a man of values.'
It was no coincidence that two of his substitutes scored the goals against Chelsea. This is a side packed with character, having gained eight points this season by losing positions. The team's mantra is 'one for all and all for one' and is perfectly summed up by their photo in the dressing room afterwards.
In the aftermath of their dramatic win against Brentford last month, Fulham posted a clip of Silva's speech on social media. He saved the final words for substitute Harry Wilson, who came on from behind and scored twice in stoppage time to win the match.
“It's been hard for you, H. I know, and it's not your fault,” Silva says. 'It's my decision. If anyone is to blame, it's my fault. Above all, you are all a group.
'Sometimes it's you from the bench. Other times it will be others. But you deserve this moment, enjoy it.” Then he stands up, points to Wilson and walks over to his player to hug him.
It showed the environment Silva has created, where he goes all out to take the pressure off the players.
However, sometimes it boils over. Not least when he was charged with a touchline ban for abusing referee Chris Kavanagh during an FA Cup match at Old Trafford last year. Silva's passion for the FA Cup dates back to his childhood, when he saw it on TV as a child in Lisbon and was desperate for silverware.
'We played well before that. That reaction was pure emotion and transcended the players. They want to go the extra mile for him because they see who represents them,” a Fulham source added.
When asked which manager scared him most, Troy Deeney remembered Silva at Watford for his ruthlessness, with the boss telling him bluntly that he was a legend, but without wanting to be disrespectful: he was too slow and he preferred to Andre Gray.
“Small in stature, nice guy, but he'll cut you off. It's his way or it's not,” Deeney said.
That honesty remains, and so does the hyper-ambition that saw him agree to join Everton midway through the 2017/2018 season, when he was still at Watford.
Silva has played more games for Fulham (160) than for Hull, Watford and Everton combined (108). The three-and-a-half years in west London are the longest he has spent at one club, having rejected an offer from Benfica in his first season and a mega-money £40m approach from Al Ittihad in Saudi earlier this year Arabia had rejected.
For the time being, he is doing well with his wife and two daughters in London.
For an incredibly ambitious individual who 'always seems to win regardless of the opposition', any decision about his future will inevitably be made with great care, not least after the eighteen months he spent in the wilderness following the resignation of Everton.
Silva's contract at Fulham expires in 2026, but at this rate more clubs will come calling.
In the clip of him hugging Wilson, Silva tells the rest of the players: 'Football will take from you, but then it will give. If you keep doing the right things, you will get it back. Just like in life.'
At the moment, life offers enough for Marco Silva and Fulham.
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