Juventus (0) v Chelsea (1):MICHAEL BALLACK sat in a heaving media suite at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin last night and was asked to explain Chelsea's revival.
The microphone caught Guus Hiddink, sitting at his side, muttering what might have been “careful what you say” under his breath as the German carefully considered his response, though there was little to fear in the answer when it came. Ballack spoke of “power” and “fighting spirit” and of the side returning to their “biggest strengths”. This team have gone back to basics to progress.
There has been nothing spectacular about Hiddink’s brief reign to date other than the raw statistics: five games, five wins. The football has not been scintillating. Opponents have not been humiliated, only humbled. None of it has even been particularly refreshing, other than in bucking a trend of underachievement that had condemned his predecessor.
But it has all been mightily effective, hinting at a return to the days when Jose Mourinho oversaw these players and so regularly ground opposition into submission. Chelsea rarely lack backbone but it is this side’s spine that truly strikes fear into all-comers. Under Mourinho, the team’s real strength lay up its centre. Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba transmitted confidence to leave opponents quivering at the prospect of securing reward.
Lampard, arguably, has been this side’s most consistent performer all season, his game oozing the same class now as it did while others meandered through Luiz Felipe Scolari’s spell in charge.
The others up the spine, as well as Ballack in his own central role, have grown steadily stronger with the reassurance gained from victory.
Each win has been marked by one or other of the spine excelling. Lampard and Terry scored the goals to deflate Wigan Athletic. Cech’s saves deflected Portsmouth. Drogba punctured Juventus and steamrollered Coventry. The defensive surety at Aston Villa and Pompey owed plenty to industry but just as much to Terry’s organisational skills. Scolari rarely benefited from a fit Terry and Ricardo Carvalho in the same side. That partnership is about to be restored.
Yet the revival has been noticeable in Drogba most of all. “If it’s about getting those players who had been under-performing back to their level then, in that respect, look no further than what he’s done with Drogba,” said the former Chelsea midfielder Pat Nevin. “It had got to the stage where I couldn’t see how anybody could get him playing at his level again. At times you were left with the impression that either he couldn’t be bothered or he had ‘gone’. But, if anyone could raise his game again, it was Hiddink.
“You only have to look at what he did in 2002 in taking South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals and you realise that he is an extraordinary manager. It may be man-management, little tactical tweaks or just seeing how a player ticks. Clearly, Drogba felt an affinity with Mourinho and he might be experiencing something similar again. There is an aura about Hiddink that only the very best managers have and which instils confidence and belief in the people around them.”
The Hiddink factor has taken effect.
Claudio Ranieri admitted last night Chelsea have rediscovered the qualities that make them “a great fighting machine” but stressed the onus will be on his own Juventus players this evening to eliminate his former employers and re-establish the Italian club as a force in the European elite.
Juventus are back in the knock-out stage of the Champions League for the first time since their relegation to Serie B in 2006 for the part they played in Italian football’s infamous match-fixing scandal. They achieved eye-catching results in the group stage, beating Real Madrid home and away, but an appearance in the quarter-finals would help restore the two-time European Cup winners’ reputation.
“This club carries a great name, and a great weight of responsibility,” said Ranieri. “All the players in our team know just how important Juventus are as a club. The name is fundamental at both Italian and European levels, and we must always remember that.
“Chelsea have power and a fighting spirit, as well as the individual qualities and skills of their players. Thanks to the investment they’ve made in the team, they are a great fighting machine once again. But we have great players, too, who have already shown their qualities in this competition this season but, if they do their utmost, they can go further and do even better.”
Guardian Service
