Why 2014/15 Champions League Is Best Chance Yet for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea

We're only four games into the Premier League season, and the signs are already looking ominous for Chelsea's rivals.

It's taken him longer than his first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge, but now Jose Mourinho has finally crafted a team in his vision and is beginning to reap the rewards from a year-long pursuit of perfection.

Diego Costa's arrival has sparked a Premier League resurgence, with this year being the first time in a long while the Blues really have the look of a team capable of winning the title.

It's looking that way in Europe, also.

On Wednesday, Chelsea will face Bundesliga side Schalke at Stamford Bridge to kick-start their campaign—the first step on a journey that Mourinho will hope ends with him lifting the one trophy that has so far eluded him in West London.

Mourinho won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan, of course, while Chelsea themselves were crowned European champions in 2012.

Together, though, Lady Luck has not always been on their side.

In 2005 it was the "ghost goal" against Liverpool that ended their dreams of glory. Two years later, Liverpool proved a significant nemesis in the semis once more, winning courtesy of a penalty shootout.

Last season, Chelsea and Mourinho fell at the same stage again, this time Costa and Thibaut Courtois playing their part in Atletico Madrid coming out on top.

Luck can be a strange thing—some managers celebrate it, watching the stars in the belief they'll align in their honour, while others pay little attention.

We're not quite sure where Mourinho falls on that subject—believer or not—although this year, he needn't be either.

Indeed, more so than ever, the Champions League is Mourinho's for the taking. If we're talking about stars, they're ready to align.

Come May, it will be a decade since that Luis Garcia goal, and in that time Chelsea have grown as a club—one that is no longer a stranger to conquering Europe.

In hindsight, it was probably too much to ask of Mourinho to not only end Chelsea's 50-year wait for the league title, but to also have them crowned European champions in the same year.

The Blues had been a sleeping giant of the game, forever flirting with the notion of making it with the elite but often falling short.

That night at Anfield was one of those moments, and now it's different.

Chelsea have matured, and when considering the players at their disposal today, it's clear how far they have come.

From being slightly uncomfortable with their place at the top table, they embrace it. Chelsea belong.

There is still much for them to achieve, although Mourinho's current crop is arguably the finest Chelsea team he has coached. They're strong all over and are looking more potent now than they ever have.

Where are the doubts, the valid questions being asked? There aren't any.

Throughout this Chelsea team are players who have won World Cups, league titles and played at the highest level. They're young and they're peaking together.

Look across Europe and there are a few teams in the same cycle.

Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich are undergoing various teething problems, and Barcelona have their third manager in as many years, while Real Madrid have undergone significant change since they were crowned European champions last term.

They're great clubs that deserve the standing they're afforded, yet Chelsea's name doesn't look out of place alongside them.

Mourinho's team looks ready. They're drilled, conditioned and primed to deliver that elusive Champions League trophy.

It all starts against Schalke.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes