When Pride is at stake....

It is not only a football war, but one of pride and passion. When the Portuguese manager comes to the club with ‘J.Mourinho’ embroidered on the collar of his Italian styled suit, he would like nothing more than winning at his old hunting ground. Ancelotti too is rubbing his hands together. iSporters Pulasta Dhar and Suraj Kori are among the predictors...

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When Jose came to the club as a Champion’s League winner with Porto, he was a media favourite. He gave the journalists something to chew on, all the while distracting attention from the squad and letting them play without any pressure. It is a tactic not all managers can successfully complete, but one he did effortlessly. Thus, it was not the excellence of the squad that brought the trophies to Stamford Bridge, but the faith in their manager and the harmony within the squad that brought them. Once Jose left, Chelsea might still be the same team on the team sheet, but not the same on the pitch.

They are winning matches with style and there is no doubt about it, but the swagger is gone. The pride with which they took to the field, knowing that there was no one better than them is also gone. There is also the issue about them having the most senior team in the Premiership, with maybe an average age of 28. Most of their players are 30 or above and Chelsea have never looked to nurture young talent, something that might backfire in the years to come.

Another deciding factor will be the stamina and strength of the Inter players. Cesar is one of the top goalies in the world at the moment and their defense is rock solid, with the likes of Samuel, Lucio, Maicon and Chivu. The midfield is unforgiving on their day with Zanetti being the enforcer and allowing the likes of Schneider and Mancini to move forward. They also have speed and pace in the form of wonderkid Balotelli and a top finisher in Eto’O.

Overall, Inter are a strong team and can beat Chelsea on their day, but what remains to be seen is how Stamford Bridge wecomes their old hero back to their stadium, which under him, was an impregnable fortress. Jose knows all his players well and he is going to ask his blue-black brigade to close down the likes of Lampard and Drogba. On the other hand, Chelsea are going to be charged up, especially with Ancelotti being an old rival of Jose.

Not only is it football which matters, but mind games will have the final say on this one. And who better than Mourinho at those? I am banking on Inter to knockout Chelsea, not on the basis of gameplay, but simply by mentally sapping them through the impeccable tactics of that man Mourinho.

But we have true-blue Suraj Kori confident of a Chelsea victory:

The voices which chanted “Mourinho” some years earlier have now been replaced by “Ancellotti”. Jose Mourinho was the person who got Chelsea their first consecutive EPL titles and also took Chelsea to their first ever Champions League Final. Mourinho was the person who made Chelsea the team they are and brought the confidence in them that they can win titles. Since he was the master mind behind Chelsea’s success and knows the positives and negatives of all players, this might give him the edge.

But Carlo Ancellotti brought a new style of play along with him. His diamond formation is quite different and his players have adapted to it very fast. Chelsea started the season in the same fashion as they started under Mourinho. But even though there has been a drift in their performance in the last few matches they are still at the top and considered as the strongest team in EPL.

Where as Chelsea on the other hand is filled with great players. Just to name a few of them; Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and many more. Drogba and Anelka are considered to be the world’s best duo of strikers and stopping them from scoring is next to impossible.

They have excellent defenders like John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Alex and Ivanovic. If you are thinking that these are just big names, then let remind you that Terry has been named UEFA’s best defender for three years in a row. “Actions speak louder than words!"

I personally feel that Chelsea shouldn’t have much difficulty in beating Inter Milan and should enter the Quarter Finals quite easily. The only hope on Inter beating Chelsea is Chelsea doing some silly mistakes and giving the match to Inter. But there are no chances Chelsea is going to do this.