iSporter Asif Khan watched Chelsea lose to Inter Milan at the San Siro. Here are some of the interesting facts from the game as perceived by him...
If the title wasn't already confusing enough, I can refer to last night's Champions League match between Jose Mourinho's old team and Jose Mourinho's new team. Before we go ahead any further I will explain the reason behind complicating this whole bit about 'Chelsea' v Chelsea and Mourinho's old team versus his new team. See, 'simple' doesn't sell and people do not appreciate the efforts that go in keeping things simple. What most people don't realise is that it takes more effort in keeping things simple than it does in complicating them, and I...
I know this article is not meant to be about myself but about the match I watched last night, but when you are talking about the most self indulgent and arrogant man on the planet, it's easy to get carried away and give more importance to yourself than to the topic at hand.
There were many times last night when it was hard to differentiate the teams, both had a stamp of Mourinho on them. Chelsea seemed to be more attacking than their usual self, but if you are a goal down after 3 minutes there isn't much option left. Inter were mostly solid at the back and looked like playing with a back 7 instead of back 4, what still surprises me is how close they allowed the Chelsea players to come to the penatly area before tackling them. Chelsea would have never got the goal, if someone had bothered to tackle Ivanovic far away in Chelsea half itself, for God sake it was just Ivanovic, not Messi!!
Chelsea's problems with their defence was highlighted once more. John Terry did not have the best of the day and was guilty for the first goal and absence of Ashley Cole was clearly visible. Defensively Inter were a better side and the result shows the true picture.
Before you read any further, a few disclaimers. Gossip Alert, small offences to Sachin/Terry/England/Mahabharata/Drogba/Anelka......Alert, alert, alert...
1) Doesn't Lucio look like ex-Footballer turned Hollywood hardman Vinie Jones? Or I am probably still under the influence of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels that I watched a few weeks ago. More on Lucio later.
2) Jose Mourinho playing with two strikers???? Those are too many question marks, I realised that too, but then again a Jose Mourinho team with two forwards???? Jose's teams are always boring, an eyesore to watch. They love to sit back and score on the break, that's always been his strategy, but last night he started with both Eto'o and Milito and it paid rich dividends.
He sprang another surprise when after getting two goals on board he brought on Balotteli and Pandev. Was it the real Jose Mourinho or he and Carletto Ancelloti swapped bodies and minds for the night?
3) Was Anelka playing for Chelsea? I did see a bald Frenchie (Not the VIP Frenchie, but that you would know already, as that can't be bald) running around in gloves. He did look like Anelka, but was it him? Drogba did come on and off so many times, was he the twelfth man bringing water on the field? Oh I forgot this isn't Cricket I am talking about. The fact is Chelsea's frontline was very poor last night and always reliable Drogba and mercurial Anelka were hardly offered any space by the Milan defenders.
4) Isn't Terry supposed to be one of the best defenders in the world? When Deigo Milito came charging for Inter's first Goal, he looked like Sachin Tendulkar ducking against a Bret Lee or a Shoib Akhtar bouncer. I was trying to find similarities between Toni/Vanessa (whom Terry was doing at the same time) and Milito. For a moment I thought, maybe Terry mistook Milito to Toni/Vanessa charging at him for two timing and he just showed his back instead of tackling him?
5) Doesn't the name Pandev sound like someone from the Indian epic of Mahabharata? But none of the characters in BR Chopra's Mahabharata were baldies, except if I remember well Duryodhana and he wasn't a Pandava.
6) Isn't it surprising that the biggest and best football stadiums in the world are not in the land of the so called best football league in the world, but in Spain and Italy? Are any of the stadiums in England as grand as San Siro or Camp Nou? Wembley and Emirates come close and I haven't been to the Stadium of Lights, any others?
7) I don't know if Arsene Wenger and his boys were watching the match last night, but if they were and I wish they were, they should have noticed the Brazillian defender Lucio and learnt on how to tackle the shit out of Big, Black and Quick forwards charging at you like a bull. I didn't bother to find out who was the man of the match, but if I were to decide the award, without any doubt I would have handed it to Lucio.
Jose Mourinho is one up on Ancelloti but he knows there is a long way to go before he can celebrate and he made it very obvious last night. The tie is set up perfectly to put Mourinho's claim as the best manager in the world to test and like all his fans/haters I just can't wait another 3 weeks!
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Saurabh Joshi
said:
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... Asif, Very Well written...) i guess nobody can wait for 3 weeks esspecially when the mans himslef writes "Stamford bridge is always luck for Morinho" should be a cracker jacker..!! |
Suraj Kori
said:
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... Asif, i agree that Mourinho is the 'BEST'. But one should not forget that the game isin't over yet. And the next match is at Stamford Bridge. I think Chelsea will make up for their mistakes and make a strong come-back and book their place in quarter-finals... |
Asif Khan
said:
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... @Suraj No suggestion that the game is over, it's just 1-0 to Mourinho  Chelsea stand a very good chance and probably a better chance to go through the next round. But with the special one around you just don't know what to expect. |
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