It was just after Real Madrid’s qualification into the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League that Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho began what appeared to be mind games with rival Pep Guardiola, as he downgraded Chelsea’s status by overly elevating the Catalans prior to their meeting at the Stamford Bridge.
“It could be Bayern or Barcelona,” the BBC quoted him saying. “I just don't think it will be Real Madrid v Chelsea and we know why.”
"Barcelona aren't the favourites, they are super-favourites."
Such a statement – especially from a football personality as experienced as Jose Mourinho – cannot be instantly substantiated. One can even question the level of sincerity behind this statement.
Exaggeration of opinion? Perhaps, but it is easier to believe that the Real Madrid manager was simply trying to make one or several points implicitly.
Jose Mourinho’s view of “super-favourites” Barcelona
Since Mourinho turned into a popular face in the football world, he has had a host of encounters with the Spanish giants in the Champions League – and more recently, in La Liga too with Los Blancos. Most of his meetings with the Catalans produced a stream of news for several days, not only because of the normal attraction they had towards the public, but mainly due to the conspicuous arguments that ensued.
Having tasted all feelings against Barcelona through various kinds of wins, draws and defeats, Mourinho is well familiar with the techniques and practises of Los Cules. Although the Blaugrana are regarded as a hard-working, fair and decent club by many names in football, Mourinho has often opposed himself to this description of the Spanish club.
Irrefutably, there were times were the Special One – known for his antics – praised Barcelona’s efforts and performance in games against his teams. On some occasions, Mourinho admitted that his long-time challengers were a great side with great players.
“We've beaten the best team in the world,” Mourinho stated after he led Inter Milan past Barcelona in the Champions League semis to join Bayern Munich in the final at the Bernabeu in 2010.
Yet, the former Chelsea coach has not always built his opinions of the defending European champions on positive confessions. The ex-Porto manager has repeatedly associated Barca’s recent massive success with illegal help from officials, and he made his point well clear in April last year, after Real Madrid controversially lost 2-0 to Barcelona in their Champions League semi-finals first leg match.
Mourinho - who had earlier on criticized the Ovrebo incident that took place in 2009, as well as the Spanish titans’ provocative aggregate victory over Arsenal in the Round of 16 in March 2011 – questioned Coach Guardiola’s brilliance, saying:
“I hope one day Guardiola has the chance of winning a brilliant, clean championship with no scandal.”
Furthermore, Mourinho made allusion to Barcelona’s additional power given by referees, who made them unfairly invincible: “Today, we have seen that it is not difficult (to beat Barca) – it is impossible.”
The Real Madrid coach reiterated his position on that matter this season after Madrid were knocked out of the Copa del Rey through a pair of Clasicos – stating that controversy in games against the reigning FIFA Club World Cup winners was “nothing new”.
Logically, this explains why Mourinho regards Barcelona as “super-favourites” in the Champions League semi-finals, regardless of the nature of their opponents. But are Chelsea ready to turn into victims of yet another “Scandal of Stamford Bridge”?
The wake-up call of Chelsea: Motivation from outside
Chelsea have not been too impressive this season; at least, they’ve not managed to meet their fans’ expectations. Only 16 wins and 9 draws in the Premier League underline the fact that the Blues have already been defeated 8 times and missed a total of 42 points in 33 league games so far this season.
Their record in the UEFA Champions League is however better, even though they have hitherto lost twice and been held as many times. A decent 3-1 aggregate win over Benfica in the quarterfinals was good enough to put them among the semi-finalists; but now, Chelsea’s stability is put to the test once again as they are placed against a devastating FC Barcelona side.
Considering the Londoners’ form all season, it would be understandable for some of their fans to side with Jose Mourinho and look upon Barca as the clear favourites. Yet, the FA Cup finalists know how to stun, and they showed at the weekend that they are still able to call upon their fiercest personas when they truly need to.
Their comprehensible victory in the derby against Tottenham did not come as an ordinary outcome, despite the fact that the Blues have not lost a game in the FA Cup this season. Indeed, the plausible reason behind this record is the low strength of their opponents – their most dangerous adversaries up to now being Tottenham Hotspur, whom they manhandled on Sunday.
Chelsea recorded a brutal 5-1 victory sparked by goals from Drogba, Mata, Ramires, Lampard and Malouda. They made it clear that they had a strong motive behind them.
Perhaps, were they just trying to make up for their mistakes earlier this season and destroy the idea of finishing their 2011-12 campaign cupless? Or perhaps they had their imminent Champions League encounter in mind?
On a more likely note, were they rather trying to prove to the world that they were too conscious to be regarded as plain underdogs against Barcelona? If that was the case, then it was surely in response to a certain perception… or more accurately, a certain statement.
Whatever it was, it was the result of a recent motivation. Obviously, Chelsea feel that there is a need to go against all the odds and force a Bayern Munich vs Chelsea or Real Madrid vs Chelsea final fixture.
A brief look at the current situation is enough for anyone to understand that Chelsea are quite close to making history. The English club, who has never won the UEFA Champions League trophy, is presently three games away from European glory.
Naturally, after a series of disappointments at domestic level this season, it would make sense for them to aim for the big prize, which would eventually earn them forgiveness, utter thrust and respect – not only from their fans, but from the majority of football devotees following English football.
At this point though, their concern should be based on their visitors’ unique powers. Nonetheless, fear can certainly not be the strongest feeling with which they will fight Barcelona. As victims of the last “Scandal of Stamford Bridge”, it will be with great determination and ferocity that Chelsea will be seeking authority on their ground this time around, so as to tarnish Barca’s image as “super-favourites” in the first-leg encounter of the Champions League semi-finals.
Mission Possible: Chelsea’s quest for redemption
By refusing to compare Chelsea’s strengths with that of the Catalans, it is as if the general public is ignoring the Blues’ advantage of playing at home. Suddenly, Barcelona look too great to be confronted, and less possibly, beaten.
In the end, many tend to see “revenge” for the Ovrebo incident as the only way for Chelsea to handle their Spanish opponents and reach the final. Yet, a look at previous meetings’ results should normally be enough to balance assessments and accept the verity that the Londoners stand a good chance of marching into the second leg with their hopes alive.
"The way we play is maybe difficult for them [Barcelona],” interim manager Roberto Di Matteo stated during the pre-match press conference. “The results in the past show that. We've shown on many occasions [that] we can give them a lot of problems."
In the eight meetings that Chelsea and Barcelona have had to themselves since 2005, the two clubs share exactly the same record – both of them having won twice, lost twice and drawn on four occasions. The Blues have not lost in the last five meetings, and they could even expand their record this season by playing “two perfect games”, as urged by their coach.
Midfielder Frank Lampard – who was also in action when Chelsea were denied a host of penalties at the Bridge in the Champions League semi-finals in 2009 – did not made allusion to the idea of revenge against Barcelona, but rather preferred to talk about the requirements on their behalf to survive against a side that have a premature advantage.
"We will have to be at our best because we're playing the best," he pointed out. "We are under no illusions about that, but I like the tag of underdogs.
“I think it is imperative to play a pressing game," he continued.
"There is no way you can be passive against Barcelona. We will have a game-plan to attack them, but the main thing is a sense of urgency in your defenders.”
Accomplishing the mission anyhow
In effect, the most important thing for Chelsea would be not to concede at the Stamford Bridge. A 0-0 draw would after all give them the edge going into the second leg, as all they would need to do would be to balance their play in search of a precious away goal and another clean sheet to come out victorious.
But to be more precise, not conceding in Chelsea’s case would mean not allowing a single goal under any circumstance at any point in the game – making no way for excuses. The strictness of the command for their frontmen is no different.
As Chelsea are looking forward to a positive match, it will be their attackers who will have the final say – being compelled to grab a home advantage by any means. Three years ago, when a 1-1 draw was insufficient for the Blues to grab tickets for the Rome final, a pile of blames fell the referee’s way, as he was accused of “robbing” them by waving away their constant appeals for penalties.
Yet, in football, just as elsewhere, what matters the most is the end result; and it is for this reason that the hosts will have to be fully prepared for anything that could happen on Wednesday evening.
Lucky is the team that gets favoured by the official
This goes without saying that the side that appears to be victim of controversy on Wednesday night should just make extra efforts to dominate the game, while the side that appears to be favoured by the official should just accept the additional opportunities as part of the gifts of luck.
On Sunday, a Juan Mata strike early in the second half against Tottenham Hotspur was wrongly awarded as a goal by referee Martin Atkinson, as video replays showed the ball had not crossed the goal line. This debatable decision from the referee enabled Chelsea to move 2-0 up against Spurs, but asked about Mata’s goal, Chelsea captain John Terry told ITV:
“Throughout the season, things go with you and against you. Today it’s gone for us and we’re delighted.”
Lampard said: “I didn’t see [it], but if we got lucky there, we got lucky.”
And the opinion of Dani Alves on the issue of “special luck” in football is not too different. The Brazilian defender also believes that, at the end of the day, the important thing is for winners to be worthy of their triumph.
Talking about the last Chelsea vs Barcelona encounter, Alves declared: “People say Chelsea should have won but for the referee, but that is not our problem.
“We were there to play football, to compete and try to get to the final (in Rome). Chelsea did not reach the final because of fear.”
It was a late Iniesta goal in stoppage time that disqualified Chelsea that season; but there can be no space for fear or frustration this time in the Blues’ vessel. Moreover, a few of their players will want to leave their marks for various reasons.
Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba are certainly key performers that are named on Pep Guardiola’s list of players to watch. While the Spaniard will be targeting a long-lasting revitalization through a historic achievement over the two legs, the Ivorian – who scored a wonder goal at the weekend at Wembley – will be aiming at productive displays that will allow him to reach his second Champions League final with Chelsea and correct the costly mistakes he made in Moscow against Manchester United back in 2008.
So, we go back to the initial question of this article… Are FC Barcelona sure Champions League finalists as Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho claims?
Barcelona will be taking on Real Madrid in La Liga’s last Clasico this Saturday, in a match that could push them much closer to the league title. The Catalans currently have the chance to win their second treble under Pep Guardiola; but if they are to repeat their 2008-09 season attainment, then they must make no more errors and deal with fatigue, as well as with the absences of top players with perfection.
