bridge views - the thinking fan's chelsea blog

Mourinho evokes Chelsea memories as he outwits Barcelona and exposes Catalan hypocrisy

Despite the media’s rampant love-in for Barcelona, which intensified in the UK after the Catalans’ destruction of Arsenal, last night’s Champions League semi final was predictable. Unlike Wenger, Mourinho had the nouse to come up with a sensible gameplan. His players carried it out perfectly, and gave themselves a realistic chance of progressing to the final.

I have acknowledged that Barcelona are a great team – almost certainly Europe’s best – but said after their 6-3 aggregate win over Arsenal that the London club made it too easy for them. Tactically Wenger and his players were naïve and it cost them. In contrast however, Mourinho sat his defence deep, hassled Barcelona all over the pitch and hit Barcelona on the break. It was a textbook European performance and a deserved win.

But if this was classic Mourinho tactically, it was classic Mourinho presentation too. After the game rumours circulated that Mourinho had clashed with Xavi in the tunnel, with the Spaniard complaining that Inter had got lucky to not concede a penalty. Sky reported that Mourinho had instantly responded by reminding the midfielder of Barcelona’s outrageous fortune against Chelsea last year.

Mourinho pointed to Overbo-gate in the press room too, accusing the whinging Barcelona players of having short memories. “It’s a pity” he said. “A year ago Chelsea were crying and Barca were laughing with the referee. They laughed because he denied my Chelsea boys their rightful place”.

Through his cantankerous reference to ‘my Chelsea’ The Special One revealed both a unique brand of arrogance and a lingering warmth for Chelsea that, along with a brilliant victory, recalled older days.

Some Chelsea fans resent bloggers such as myself writing about Jose’s greatness, as if showing any kind of nostalgia for the Mourinho years automatically constitutes not supporting the current team. But there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia; and the reality is Mourinho’s needless departure will continue to haunt Chelsea fans for as long as he remains in the game, or until Ancelotti mirrors his achievements.

Here’s to another Jose win at the Nou Camp.

What do you think about The Special One’s win over Barcelona? Would you take him back at Chelsea, and how does he compare to Ancelotti? Or are you one of those who would rather we try and forget about him? Post a comment…

You might also like to read:

• Mourinho coming back to the Premiership?
• UEFA’s attitude is the real ‘disgrace’
• Conspiracy theories linger as UEFA stick by Ovrebo

Thoughts on Wenger, Barcelona, Messi and Chelsea after Arsenal Champions League demise

Arsenal emerged from last night’s Nou Camp encounter looking more bruised than John Ruiz after his David Haye battering. Barcelona, powered by the seemingly unstoppable Messi, swept the north Londoners aside to make a mockery of Arsenal’s pre-match hopes.

From half time onwards, we have all been subjected to an unending Barcelona and Messi love-in on the television and in the newspapers. Largely, it is fair enough: Barcelona are the best team in the world, and Messi is the best player. But the big win – and Barcelona’s brilliance - has, I think, blinded many of us to a few realities and unnecessary Arsenal shortcomings. Far be it for a Chelsea fan to comment on Arsenal and a competition we went out of in the previous round, but I think it’s worth throwing a few thoughts into the mix.

Playing great football isn’t enough
Few would argue that, at times, Arsenal play some astounding passing football. It is right that they, with meagre resources (from a certain perspective) and their commitment to youth development, get plaudits for that.

But playing great football on its own isn’t enough. I’m sick of hearing pundits – like Gullit and Souness last night – saying things like ‘you have to applaud Arsenal for the way they approached the game’. No, we don’t. They are at worst the third best team in the English league and were humbled 4-1. Why should we applaud that?

How long will it be – how many defeats in big matches – before Wenger and his team are criticised for not taking a more practical approach? In the second half of last night’s game, Guardiola made tactical changes that made his side more defensive. 3-1 up at home against a side with multiple injuries (and a side against which his team had scored a goal every 27 minutes on average) – and he tried to close it out. Barcelona swamped the midfield, and Arsenal’s counter attacks dried up.

If the best attacking team on the planet understands that playing great football isn’t enough and is prepared to sometimes take a more practical approach to winning games, Wenger should too. I’m not talking just about last night’s game or suggesting they change the fundamental way they play – but if I were an Arsenal fan, I’d be disappointed that Wenger’s stubbornness consistently creates such a needless imbalance. Playing to win isn’t a crime, and defending is as much an art as attacking. The best teams find the right balance between the two. So far, and admittedly despite massive steps forward this season, Arsenal haven’t.

Tactical naivety at the back
It isn’t just that imbalance that causes Arsenal problems. I suspect that whatever Arsenal did they would have lost last night, but defensively they were a shambles. Whilst clearly the loss of at least one key defensive player has an impact, that can be no excuse for a naïve defensive performance.

To my mind, unless you are a superior attacking side to this Barcelona team, there is only one way to play them. Sit the back four deep, holding that line, with wingers joining as auxiliary full backs when needed. Shields the box, allow Barcelona to have the ball and close their players down in your half. To threaten at the other end, you play on the counter attack.

It needs huge amounts of discipline and probably a decent centre forward who can hold the ball up, but this was how Chelsea lined up against Barcelona last year and was a strategy that should have won the game, even putting aside the penalties not given. Barcelona only scored one goal in 186 minutes of football. Liverpool have had similar results against Barcelona (albeit a different Barcelona side) using a similar conservative strategy.

Of course, defensively Arsenal have very different resources to draw on than Chelsea or Liverpool, and with a totally different mindset at the club you couldn’t expect them to try and play the same game. But there is a middle ground. Arsenal’s defence played too high up the pitch and was prone to lapses of concentration. The third Barcelona goal just showed what kind of suicide the Arsenal defence was committing by holding such a high line: Vermaelen missed a header on the halfway line and Messi broke free with only Denilson – not a centre or full back – able to make any kind of ground on him. Insane.

Last night’s game entirely exonerated Hiddink’s approach to the semi-final last year (if that needed doing), which focused first on stopping the better team and then on trying to steal a goal. It worked, and should have seen Chelsea into a second consecutive Champions League final. It wasn’t to be, and in the end the best team won the tournament.

Winning a trophy might help
None of the players turning out for Arsenal last night, or any of their injured stars, have won anything. Wenger’s insistence on playing his (even) younger players in Carling Cup games might just be another unnecessary impediment. Surely winning a trophy like that – which has been well within the realms of possibility over the last few years - can breathe confidence and allow the team to gain an experience of winning together that will support them in the biggest games elsewhere? Just a thought.

‘Best player in the world’™
Messi is the best player in the world, and by a country mile. When you watch him finish pretty much every chance he gets, score a hat-trick in 21 minutes against a good Arsenal side and consistently take on and beat three men it’s difficult to hold the defeat against Arsenal.

But amidst Sky Sports’ endless Messi love-in after the game (Keys could barely contain himself), their constant referral to his ‘masterclass’ and being the greatest player in the world, you couldn’t help but see the irony. Just three days before, and for the preceding three months, the same people had been continually banging on about how Rooney was the best player in the world. Messi put that myth to rest.

But memories are short, and in a few weeks time we’ll all be swept up in Rooney-Engerland fever again. Is it too much to ask for pundits to be a bit more open-minded?

Oh, and you CAN stop him 
For all the talk that Messi is ‘unplayable’. Nonsense. Sure, the best players in the world can create a moment of magic and do almost anything. But generally speaking their defensive counterparts can achieve similar feats at the back. Did Messi have a kick over the two legs of last year’s semi-final? No. In the first leg, Jose Bosingwa, a right-back playing out of position on the left, marked him out of the game. And I can barely recall him playing at Stamford Bridge.

Yes, twelve months on and I’m still bitter…

One night in Rome

I can’t say last night’s result wasn’t the one I was looking for.

 

Well, I suppose Barca might have stuck a couple more in for good measure. Thankfully, it’s getting some pick-up in the press today (and was pointed out by Ruud and Graham on Sky last night), but what yesterday’s Champions League final really did prove wasn’t that Barcelona are the greatest team on the planet, but how great a performance Chelsea’s was in the semi-final earlier this month.

 

I won't deny still feeling bitter about that game, but the team and manager were criticised in some quarters for what was considered overly-negative tactics, when in reality it was a ruthlessly executed plan to stop the world’s best footballing side from playing their game.

 

The simple facts are that, in 90 minutes of football, Barcelona scored twice against a creaking Utd defence because Utd failed to adopt a game plan to contain them. It took Barcelona 184 minutes to score half that tally against Chelsea, by which point they were fortunate to be still in the tie after some lax finishing and some of the most baffling refereeing decisions any of us had ever seen had gone their way.

 

We didn’t let Barcelona play their tip-tap football and were criticised for it. But where’s the obligation? Last night, Ferguson didn’t learn from the Chelsea masterclass. I’m not actually sure what he was trying to do actually – and maybe the players didn’t either. Might explain their ‘nothing’ performance. But managers, fans of the ‘holier-than-thou’ clubs and UEFA themselves should understand that the first priority in football is winning – everything else is a bonus.

 

As I said, it was good to see some of the papers pick all this up, including the ever-reliable Martin Samuel (such a shame he’s writing for the Mail), who wrote this morning:

 

“What else was proven last night? Well, something about Guus Hiddink and Chelsea, that is for sure. Without setting foot in Rome, we now know that Hiddink was even more unfortunate than many believed to have lost over two legs to Barcelona in the semi-final. Their supremacy here simply confirmed Chelsea’s success over two legs in frustrating Barcelona and bringing the carousel to a shuddering halt.

 

They were never taken for a ride like United and the criticism of their negative tactics now looks even more misplaced. As United chased darting shadows across the pitch, Hiddink’s game-plan appeared smarter by the minute.”

 

Long live Guus - he got it right.

 

nb. ok, we didn't win. But if you want to relive that Essien wonder-strike you can see it here