About Jose Mourinho and Chelsea

One thing that is inevitable after appointing Jose Mourinho as a manager is the guarantee of victories, success and trophies. And that is visible in Chelsea's performances in this season, so far.

This is the first season of Jose after his return to Stamford Bridge. Considering Chelsea's pathetic displays in the league in last two seasons, they were not expected to pose a serious challenge in the title race. However, 20-odd games in the league and they are in with a realistic chance of winning the league.

They are still in the transition phase. They still need to address a couple of issues. But Jose Mourinho has managed to extract the results from the available (talented but inexperienced) resources. They are still undefeated against the big boys this season. Stamford Bridge has once again become a fortress under the special one. Rivals have again started to fear facing Chelsea.

Mourinho is a clever manager and a great tactician with amazing man-management skills. He knows what he wants from his players. He is not afraid to drop the big names if they do not fit in his system.

He was criticized at Real Madrid for benching Casillas and preferring Diego Lopez. It was one of the reasons he left Real to join Chelsea this summer. But Jose was vindicated when his successor at Real Madrid - Carlo Ancelotti, also preferred Lopez in front of goal.

Mourinho did the same at Chelsea. Juan Mata, the player of the season for last two seasons, was marginalized. But not the performance of Chelsea…..Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have a different relationship. In the hindsight, Jose made right decision in coming back to Chelsea. Because this is the club where people believe in him and where he can implement his strategies without the backlash.

The fans, players and the club love him. They trust in him. He still has many years left in his career, but he is already the (biggest!) legend at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea without Mourinho was always missing something. People spoke of him even after he left. His achievements with other clubs were lauded. Everyone wanted him to come back. This was his home. This is where he belonged. He had given them the success and they had given him the identity. This is a relationship of mutual respect and, above all, the love. It is far beyond the trifle matters like money. He is an undisputed king here. He is revered and adored in this part of London. This is where he became big and he knows that. And this was the time Chelsea needed him badly. They were inconsistent, lost too many games and flattered to deceive. And Jose answered the call!

The return of the Special One has taken care of that. It has done wonders to the confidence of both - the club as well as the manager. Chelsea are once more a force to reckon with. They are fierce. They are fearless. They are confident. They believe that they can win the games from any situations. They have started to regain that old aura of invincibility.

Jose has brought the discipline, they were lacking, to their game. It is becoming difficult to break their defense. They are coming out victorious even on a bad day. The work-rate of players has improved significantly. The team chemistry is at all-time high.

With Jose at the helm and looking at the abundance of talent they are having in first team, reserves and academy, they will dominate the European Football for many seasons to come.

We can safely say that United's loss is Chelsea's gain!

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Barcelona: End of the Era?

They say- good things do not last forever. We thought it was wrong. We hoped Barcelona will bounce back to thrash Bayern in the seond leg of Champion's League semi-final. But we were all deceived.

It was a walk in the park for Bayern. Did it mark an end of era. It was the end of Barcelona's dominance over other clubs.

This defeat does not mean that they have suddenly become an average team. They still have a great squad. But they have lost the aura of invincibility. Their opponents would no longer be frightened enough.

They are no longer the kings. That spot is claimed by Bayern. Would Vilanova succeed in rebuilding? Or will he lose his job? Only time will tell.

All is not lost, though. Barcelona will, for sure, clinch the La Liga this season.

Where would they go from here? Will they implode or will they innovate and reclaim the lost glory? It would be interesting to watch in new season!

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Can Barcelona Stage a Comeback Against Bayern?

Bayern 'thrashed' Barcelona in Champions League 2012-13 Semi-Final's first leg at Allianz Arena. Long time has passed since Barca were 'thrashed' like that.

Now, the question that comes to mind is whether any team can come back after four goals deficit? And, interestingly, the team that looks capable of turning the tables is Barcelona.

Barcelona can take inspiration from other Spanish club - Deportivo La Coruna, who lost first leg 4-1 against Milan at San Siro, but fought back to win 4-0 at home in 2003-2004.

Barcelona, themselves, won 4-0 at Camp Nou against Milan this season, after losing 2-0 away at Milan.

We agree that Bayern are almost there. But Barca still has some chance, however slim it is, to strike back. They have home advantage in second leg. With the thousands of supporters cheering for them, it could be a different scenario altogether.

Barcelona has flair in their game and once they get going it becomes very difficult to stop them. An early goal and the flood-gates will open.

The key here is to not concede any away goal. A goal for Bayern would seal the result for them (Bayern). If Barca can score the first goal early in the game, then we would have the game on.

Following could be the key factors for Barcelona:

1. To not concede a goal. It will kill the game off.

2. First goal in opening 15 minutes.

3. 2-0 up at half-time.

4. Scoring third goal around 70'th minute.

5. Look for the possible equalizer in the last 10 minutes.

6. Try to score a winning goal in injury time/extra time OR win on penalties.

This is a tough task. Very very tough! But then we would not expect this from any ordinary club. This is Barcelona. Mightiest of all! Boasting of having the best player in the world in Lionel Messi! Arguably, the best club in the world at the moment.....challenged by the club which threatens to replace them at helm.

Don't write Barca off yet! They might have very slim chance....but they will give a helluva fight! And if things go according to plans.....who knows!

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Suarez bites Chelsea's Ivanovic: High Time to Use Technology?

Suarez scored an equalizer for Liverpool against Chelsea in the seventh minute of six-minute injury time. And there is nothing heroic about that. But a shame!!!

Suarez bit Chelsea's Ivanovic during yesterday's game at Anfield between Liverpool and Chelsea. Chelsea were up 2-1 at that time.

This act of madness by Suarez was completely ridiculous and disgraceful.

Suarez should have received the marching orders at that time. But referee did not view the incident and he continued to play and scored the last gasp equalizer for Liverpool.

FA may take action against him. But what about the result? The player, who should have been sent off, scored an equalizer with the last kick of the game. Chelsea were robbed of two points. This can derail their campaign to qualify for Champion's League next season. We have witnessed many such incidents this season.

It is a high time for Football to use technology for making important decisions. It might delay a game by couple of minutes but it will help in fair decision making.

It is necessary for officials to take the proper actions to keep the spirit of Football alive. If fans start feeling like cheated by such incidents, then it will not take long for the game to lose its popularity.

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Is Chelsea's Interest in André Schürrle Justified?

As if Chelsea are short of attacking midfielders, they are strongly linked with André Schürrle, a German International, of Leverkusen.

André Schürrle can play as a winger or forward. Chelsea already have a plenty of attacking options in their midfield with - Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Moses, Marin, Piazon (currently on loan at Malaga) and Kevin De Bruyne (currently on loan at Werder Bremen).

Where they lack is in central midfield and defense. It is where they need to sign a couple of quality players. Not in attacking midfield, which already has the best in business.

Now, this does not take away anything from André Schürrle. He is a quality young player. Has great speed and scoring ability. He has already played more than 20 international games for Germany. So, he is an asset every big club would love to have. Kevin De Bruyne may join Leverkusen on loan if the deal is done.

The issue here is to give sufficient playing time to these world-class attacking midfielders in Chelsea squad. If Schürrle deal goes through, it would be interesting to see how Chelsea (and their new manager) tackle this challenge.

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Manchester City Still With Outside Chance, While Chelsea Struggle!

Saturday’s (February 24, 2013) game between Manchester City and Chelsea at Etihad Stadium was significant for both the sides. 

City needed to win it to keep their (faint) hopes of winning Barclays Premier League alive.  While Chelsea needed to win this game to get back on track and at least recover something this season by having a go at the second spot in Barclays Premier League.

This was the game involving two giants of English Premier League. We have seen the defenses faltering in this EPL season. However, this game was marked by some great defending by both the sides. City already have the established unit of experienced quality players, while Chelsea have a squad of multiple brilliant youngsters with a plenty of flair.

Demba Ba won an excellent penalty kick against Joe Hart in the second half after goalless first half. However, Hart redeemed himself by saving the resultant penalty kick by Frank Lampard. It was a rare miss for Lampard, which keeps him waiting for his 200’Th goal for the club.

While Chelsea missed their chance to go ahead and pile the pressure on City, Yaya toure scored an absolutely magnificent goal at the other end with a precisely taken shot. Chelsea tried to push forward in search of an equalizer to no effect. Manchester City held their (nerves and) defenses well and kept Chelsea at bay. Tevez sealed the 2-0 victory for City with a late stunner.

This game once again proved that:

1. Both the top clubs in Barclays Premier League hail from Manchester.
2. The gap between two Manchester clubs and the rest is too big.
3. Chelsea are no more the side they used to be. They will need to work hard to claim the champion’s league spot. They seriously need a quality centrally midfielder and are still in the transition phase.
4. Rafa Benitez will not win any fans with Chelsea after this game.

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Chelsea Need Consistency In Performance

Chelsea suffered to horrible defeat against relegation threatened QPR yesterday (December 02, 2012).

This was the game Chelsea should have won easily.

It was against the depleted opponents. QPR is already low on the confidence, going down to almost every side in English Premier League (EPL). Chelsea were expected to win this game. Their form too, was superb in the last few games. But they surrendered at home to the lowly opposition.

It is very embarrassing for the club of Chelsea’s stature. We have seen this happen in the past few seasons. Chelsea’s (on paper) quality squad lacks in the consistency. In one game they will exhilarate against quality opponent. But in the next game they will go down to weaker side. They are losing (and drawing) too many games to win the Barclays Premier League.

This is where Manchester United (and City to certain extent, for a last couple of seasons) excel. They are a technical team. They may not have the players as flamboyant as Chelsea or City, but they more than make up for it with their professionalism and attitude. However bad they play, they tend to fight back and get the positive results. They, also, hardly drop the points against lower opponents.

In case of Chelsea, their consistency is deteriorating over the period. They have become unpredictable. Stamford Bridge is no longer the fortress it used to be.

The major reason for this downfall could be the lack of quality manager at helm to manage the extremely talented squad. Apart from Jose Mourinho (already a Chelsea Legend) and Carlo Ancelotti; they have hardly recruited the good and established managers who could match veterans like- Fergusson, Wenger or (for that matter) Mancini. Yes, Roberto Di Matteo did win UEFA Champion’s League for Chelsea. But frankly, he was no match for the established managers due to his inexperience.

Signing of Rafa Benitez as an interim manager augurs well for Chelsea. He is one of the well-known football managers across the globe and has a good knowledge of English Football. He has already managed to improve the Chelsea defense. Promotion of David Luiz to central midfield role is also a good decision.

He has a tough task before him to turn the tables and make this Chelsea squad deliver consistently.

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Roman, will you still not offer the new contract to Lampard?

Chelsea needed to win the game against Everton badly. And they found themselves a goal down just 63 seconds into the game.

Both, United and City had won their respective games and it was mandatory for Chelsea to win the game and stay in the hunt.

And it was, seemingly surplus, Super Frankie who came to Chelsea's rescue. He had also scored a wonderful goal against Aston Villa in the last game.

It was Frank Lampard who scored the equalizer for them in the 41’st minute. And he scored again in the game to clinch the win for Chelsea midway through second half.

Lampard was the part of Chelsea Core (including Terry, Drogba, Cole, Cech) under Jose Mourinho, which transformed Chelsea from a Mid-Table Club to the English Champions. With his skills, determination, performances and utmost loyalty; he has already earned the respect of Chelsea as well as other football fans. True Chelsea legend, indeed! 

Ironically, there are talks of Lampard not being offered the new contract by Chelsea due to his age. On the other hand Manchester United is sticking with veterans like, Giggs and Scholes. Barcelona has recently extended contracts of Xavi and Puyolway beyond the age of 35.

While, other big clubs have understood the importance of experience in their dressing rooms, Chelsea is following the opposite path. Drogba was not offered the acceptable contract last year even after the Champion's League triumph. This season it appears to be the turn of Super Frankie.

However, Lampard seems to have taken it in positive stride and strengthened his claim by delivering the strong performances on the field.

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Football Preview: Barclays Premier League Match-Day 20

Manchester City face Norwich in the important away game today (December 29, 2012). 

It will be a tricky game for City. If they fail to conquer at Norwich they will make it very difficult for themselves to retain the Premier League.

Manchester United will host West Brom at Old Trafford. This should be an easy game for United. But considering their recent habit to let the goals in and good form of West Brom may make the things a bit complicated.

Elsewhere, Chelsea travel to Everton to try to close the gap with United and City. Chelsea’s defense has improved immensely under Rafa Benitez. And they are playing more like a Unit. This talented team needs a world-class manager to take them ahead and Rafa may prove to be the one.

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Football: The Manchester United Spirit

I would like to make it clear at the beginning!

I AM NOT A MANCHESTER UNITED FAN.

However- You can love them or hate them….but you cannot ignore Manchester United.

The quality of their squad in the current season (2012-13) may not be as good as those of Manchester City or Chelsea. But they have one thing which most of the Premier League clubs lack…..The Manchester United Spirit!

Yes…you can never write them off. They will take blows, let the goals in and play ugly. But do not worry. They will come back at you. They will bounce back. And they will snatch the victory from the jaws of the defeat. 

That is Manchester United for you.

And the credit for it goes to Sir Alex Ferguson. Even with the stingy transfer budget and lack of enough star players (which was the hall-mark of United in the recent past)  he has managed to keep Manchester United at the top. The recent signing of Robin van Persie from Arsenal was a masterstroke. Look at the way he has performed and transformed the season for United.

They just keep fighting back. Boxing Day game (December 26, 2012) against Newcastle United cemented it. Newcastle led the game three times at Old Trafford. But the Red Devils came back from behind on all three occasions and dealt the cruel blow to Newcastle by scoring the late winner to clinch the game 4-3.

If they keep up this spirit and fighting displays, then it will be very hard for Manchester City and Chelsea to prevent them from clinching yet another Premier League Title this season (2012-13).

As they say, it ain't over 'til it's over!

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