Kevin McCarraon how the shadow of Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho still falls over his former club
THE IDEA that Jose Mourinho could be defective in any respect borders, as he would surely tell you, on the blasphemous. Even so, there was a glitch in the Inter manager’s recollection of life at the old club he meets in tonight’s Champions League tie. “Chelsea have suffered in the last two years, and it’s no coincidence that their decline happened after I left.”
Strictly speaking, that departure occurred because an emotional exhaustion had already set in by September 2007. The club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, needed some respite from the histrionics.
At that moment, any billionaire’s good humour might have been faltering because a home draw with Rosenborg Trondheim had been preceded by a goalless match with Blackburn Rovers and a defeat at Aston Villa. The results were far from ruinous but Mourinho is always capable of getting on a proprietor’s nerves. Just as some players fare better when they come off the bench, there may also be impact managers who thrive in bursts.
It is hard to picture Mourinho staying in one place for decades and committing himself to building and dismantling teams. There is no reason why he should resemble Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger when his explosiveness gives rise to memorable headlines and headaches. Mourinho is invigorating in his own way. The span of three years and three months at Chelsea is easily the longest of his terms at the five clubs he has managed.
He was at his best at the beginning of the Stamford Bridge period. The Premier League title was won in 2005 and a defensive record of a paltry 15 goals conceded was set for the competition. Chelsea’s points tally of 95 also remains the benchmark.
Mourinho announced himself with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season in August 2004. He did benefit from signings such as Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard made by his predecessor, Claudio Ranieri. Well over five years have passed, but half a dozen of the players involved that day are still turning out for Chelsea. Of the starting line-up that beat Wolves at the weekend, only Branislav Ivanovic, Yuri Zhirkov, who misses tonight’s match through injury, and Nicolas Anelka were bought by Mourinho’s successors.
There are honourable reasons for such minor adjustment. It would have been absurd, for example, for Abramovich to go spending at the same excitable rate. Even a billionaire might feel chastened when his determination to splash out €34 million on Andriy Shevchenko led to such ignominy. In terms of strategy, Abramovich is right to feel that his development of the club should ultimately lead to it financing itself. Grown-up considerations of that sort were never strewn in Mourinho’s path.
The beginning was the peak. In that first campaign, he could, in theory, flank Didier Drogba with Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, although the Dutchman had injury problems. It was a debilitating system, with the men on the wings having both to attack and to drop back into midfield. Duff and Robben are in action elsewhere now, but the Stamford Bridge demands did take their toll. The exertion could have been even more worthwhile, but Luis Garcia’s “ghost goal” beat them in the 2005 Champions League semi-final with Liverpool.
Avram Grant had been director of football at Stamford Bridge and was on hand to succeed Mourinho. He would, of course, have delivered the Champions League to Abramovich had John Terry converted his kick in the shoot-out with Manchester United.
Over two-thirds of a campaign there was no scope for reconstruction, but the signing of Anelka has been inspired.
Then came the much-heralded World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was more radical than the others who followed Mourinho and was sacked in early February 2009. Scolari favoured a type of back three that included a holding midfielder such as Mikel John Obi so that the full-backs could be in advanced positions when Chelsea were in possession.
It earned compliments, but too few wins. Guus Hiddink was appointed as a caretaker manager and reinstated the old rigour. But for outrageously bad refereeing by Tom Henning Ovrebo the side would surely have knocked out Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final last year.
Carlo Ancelotti, the incumbent, has Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, but the diamond midfield that was considered his innovation is no longer so apparent. The shadow of Mourinho still falls over the club and the darkness will deepen if Inter prevail.
Guardian Service
