"Mourinho quited, England shocked" filled up the header of today's sport column in Sin Chiew Jit Poh
To be honest, I never liked Mourinho a bit, and I did show my displeasure towards him once or twice on my blog. However, that doesn't mean that I shun his coaching at Chelsea. As a matter of fact, I think he is a manager every Premiership team with big bucks would like to have. His records of two Premiership titles, one runners-up (last season behind Manchester United), one FA Cup and two Carling Cup, all completed within the short three years of his reign at the club is unbeatable. Plus:
"Of the 185 games he was in charge of Chelsea, they won 124, drew 40 and lost 21, a record that includes a 60-match unbeaten run in Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge." (from BBC Sport)
Hell, that's like 67 percent wins, or 88.6 percent undefeated records out of all the matches he managed. Wow!
Of course the big bucks poured into the club almost immediately when it was being bought over must be counted for the silverwares, but the guy must have some brilliant game plans that cannot be disputed, like psychological warfare.
Like I said before, what I hated about him is his foul mouth. Regardless of whether his team was indeed not doing well in a match, and ended either losing or drawing, he would still refuse to give credit to the opponent and blamed the result on either the referee, bad luck, or worked out some brilliant Math formula to stun everyone.
Anyway, those are probably just my own feelings as a Liverpool fan. A fan always supports his team and help to defend it; and I'm sure a coach will do the same for his team as well.
Mourinho didn't just help Chelsea at the club level. I personally felt that without him, John Terry, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, and Frank Lampard would never be as big as they are today, and England might yet be suffering a few major holes in both their defense and offense. Not to mention promoting underrated African players like Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, who both helped their national teams, Ivory Coast and Ghanaian respectively to reach World Cup 2006.
In a way, I feel very pitiful for Morinho. Obviously he was very confident about himself, and he had the skills to be so, but the bureaucratic pressure from his tauke (that means 'boss' in Chinese dialect) was too much to bear. Can you imagine a rich Russian billionaire sacking the winning formula because he "wants the stadium to be full and he wants to see people enjoying the football his team provides." (from BBC Sport). He also wants "his team to win trophies but also play with style" (from BBC Sport)
Make those wishes to a lamp genie, Mr. Abramovich, and you will get the latest FIFA 2008. Image from (from BBC Sport)
How to play like that? Spent money like no tomorrow on Andriy Shevchenko (31 million pound), who only scored 15 goals in 53 total matches with Chelsea; while good team players like William Gallas, and Robert Huth were sold. All against the will of the manager. Just who's driving here?
I don't think Mr. Abramovich knows the frustration of side-seat driving since he can afford paying big money hiring a driver.
Well, as you wish, Mr. Russian billionaire, let's see what your team can do against Manchester United in Old Trafford this Sunday, without Mourinho.
Wish you all the best ^^ but more likely, all your wishes will be realized... ... the other way round against your team!
