BlueChampions - The Blog of the Champions of England!

JM once said, there are champions and there are losers. He did not value being a runner up or a finalist. He said that in the context of the big teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd, Liverpool and he did in fact add Chelsea to that list. That’s very true. You either win or lose a tournament. it matters less, at which hurdle we lost. There could be a million reasons that separate a victory and a defeat but what matters is the result than the reasons.

History does not remember runner-ups, not even the most valiant ones that won the hearts instead of the trophy. History tells us that Real Madrid has won it for 9 times, Milan has won 7 times, Liverpool has won it for 5 times, while the runners-up are fast forgotten. As Chelsea fans we would always fondly remember our first champions league final, irrespective of the result. To the neutrals, to the millions of football fans around the world, there would be one European champion for the 07-08 season.

In the premier league Man Utd were the better team than Chelsea in every way you look at it, be it attack, defence, midfield, consistency, flair, results – everything. In fact, the league table makes us look much more respectable than what we deserve. The champions league is a different animal. We are now taking them head on for the trophy. It is the team that’s better on Wednesday night that will walk away winners. Past history, head to head records, route to the finals, nothing would matter. Just big match with crucial moments.

After JM took over, Chelsea has certainly become a big match team. Against big teams, in big matches, our win-draw-loss record should be much better than that of our rivals. I’m confident (I’m anxious, that’s another thing) ahead of the big matches than the smaller ones. I’m confident that the players would step up their level to topple their reputed rivals like they always do. Everytime we met a top four team in a final, we have come trumps. We beat Liverpool in league cup finals, we beat Arsenal in another league cup finals, and we beat Man Utd in the FA cup finals. Semi finals are a different story, but we are not in a semi final now, are we?

This final is a very important match for Chelsea for many reasons. I think, the most important is that this could sadly be the last Chelsea match for some of our players. The suspect list includes Drogba, Lampard, Carvalho, Shevchenko, Malouda, Belletti, Pizarro, Sidwell, Makelele, Ben Haim, Wayne Bridge, Ferreira, SWP etc. Mind you, this is just the suspect list. The players that most certain to remain for next season seem to be Terry, Essien, Ashley Cole, Mikel and the purchases by Avram Grant. I’m not sure how many would remain but whoever leaves, I want this to be a fitting tribute to the players. Last memory in the Chelsea dressing room should be that of crazy and wild celebrations.

Let me analyse our chances with the parameters that are essential to winning a final. They way I see it, for a team to win a final, they would need (i) desire & hunger (ii) ruthlessness (iii) strong subs bench (iv) slice of luck (v) discipline and organisation.

(i) Desire & hunger: On the face of it, it looks like Chelsea would be hungrier for this title than Man Utd. Chelsea have lost this season’s league title to Man Utd on the last day. So far, this has been a trophyless season and I don’t think they would like it end it that way. More than Man Utd, Chelsea is the team that’s keep to prove critics wrong while Man Utd have mostly admirers and very few critics. Like said before, some of the Chelsea players could be playing their last match for Chelsea tomorrow. They might want the champions league winners’ medal that would also boost their own CVs. On the other hand, Man Utd have won the league title in style. While that might have quenched their thirst, none of them except Giggs and Scholes have a champions league medal. I don’t suggest in any way that they would be content with winning one trophy. We are talking about a treble winning club. But is n’t it an extra motivation that the final is in Moscow and Chelsea players would love to win it for Roman in his soil? All considered, I’d say Chelsea might a little bit hungrier than Man Utd to win this trophy.

(ii) Ruthlessness: Both teams have it. How much of it would be displayed on Wednesday night would be determined by the tactics adopted. When Man Utd get going, they can murderous. When Chelsea get going, they win the match giving no chance to the opposition. Ruthlessness will be displayed by the way the players fight for the balls, the crunching tackles, the undying energy despite the fatigue etc. Even if both teams are at their ruthless best, I guess Man Utd would have an upper hand here.

(iii) Strong bench: See this is a final between rivals from the same league. They know about each other – their strengths and weaknesses. Most probably, we might see a goalless first half. Most probably, the game would be decided in the second half or even in the extra time. In such games where both teams have strong defences, generally it might take 60 or 70 minutes before either of the defences is unlocked by a smart move or a defensive error. That’s why I think the team that has a better bench can
make a telling impact later in the game. If you look at Chelsea, we might bring in Shevchenko, Mikel, SWP etc whereas Man Utd can bring in Nani or Anderson. It’s fair to say that Man Utd have better attacking subs and Chelsea have better defensive subs. On the whole Man Utd might have the edge here.

(iv) Discipline and organisation: In terms of defensive and offesnsive discipline, Man Utd have been the better team all along. They have conceded the least number of goals in the league and have managed two clean sheets against Barcelona. Whereas Chelsea’s defence is not what it used to be. It’s no longer an unbreakable wall. Quite a few times, we have seen lack of organisation in the back four that resulted in one defender playing an attacker onside. Lack of communication among themselves have created gaps that were exploited. We have been reluctant to close down and allowed attacks to flourish. We have dropped points by conceding late goals in about 5 matches. Chelsea’s defensive organisation has been a worry while Man utd sits pretty with an unshakeable fortress behind.

(vi) Slice of luck: We have been quite lucky against Olympiakos, Fenerbahce and Liverpool. If this trend of luck continues, it can be very decisive. Matches like these are decided by few crucail moments. Imagine Chelsea getting away with an offside goal after 75 minutes to ahead 1-0? It could very well be the final goal of the final. All through this season, Chelsea have been the luckier team than Man Utd, especially in champions league. How about an own goal by Ronaldo, a record 42nd goal

Forget all the above parameters. I simply don’t see this Chelsea team losing out on such a great opportunity to become European champions. Like Ballack said, we have too much experience and maturity in this team to bottle it at this stage. That would prove crucial if the match gets tighter and tighter. Also there are rumours that the Moscow pitch is not quite good. The ball may not roll as smoothly as expected. This could be an advantage for the team which is stronger in the air. I don’t mind even if Drogba is served with 100 long balls in 90 minutes. We just need to win this match somehow.

Rafa provoked Drogba and saw him celebrating a brilliant goal right in front of him. This time Vidic and Rooney are making that mistake. Drogba is an amazing big match player. The bigger the teams are and bigger the occasion gets, he enjoys the challenge. I’m kind of sure that Drogba would score a goal. I’d want Shevchenko or Ballack to score another one. I don’t see Rooney or Ronaldo scoring against us. I have a feeling that we might concede one in a set piece. I expect that it would be a 2-1 to us, all three goals in the second half. We will be European Champions.