Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, never one to shy away from a challenge, declared this evening he wants to face his old club Barcelona in the Champions League. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=319472&cc=5901
Man is Jose good at mind games. If we draw Barca, its now not an unfortunate circumstance in the eyes of the players. Its whom we wanted all along. I think I'd like him more after reading his autobiography.
Such a genius. All the pressure is off the players if we draw them. It's so refreshing to have a coach who can play mind games with the big boys.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/news/Kind=1/newsId=266514.html I think that equates into 6 AM EST, but I'm not 100% sure.
Didnt think of it that way sunshine. He's better than Ferguson at the mind games. The more i hear of him, the more i like his style. Even though he manages a small town in london.
LOL! Thanks guys, I'm not a big fan of math. I'll be up tomorrow at that time, so I'll be able to listen in. Wee!
'allo Mell. Looking a little 'jaundiced' today i see Small 'town' in London...LOL We're gonna win the league.. We're gonna win the league.. e...i...adio..... We're gonna win the league.....
Mel hasn't been around for awhile. Been posting too much in his own forum. Know what I love most about Mourinho...he's able to admit his mistakes. For instance at halftime of the Arsenal game, he realized he should have started Gallas in the middle and put Bridge on the left so he made that change. And while he's loyal to "his" guys (Carvalho, Ferreira, Tiago, etc.) he's able to realize and admit they might be playing a shit and subs them off. He's ego might be big but atleast he is able to admit and correct his mistakes.
Anybody. We will kill them But i have just been on nufc.com, and it looks like we played terrible. Still. Top of the group. Cant complain.
I just think Chelsea have one cool manager. He is so arrogant. Its just class to watch his press confereces. Legend.
True. We need a bigger squad like Chelsea. Half your subs would be first team certs at St James' mate.
HAHAHAHHAAAA HHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!! Pressure is off? HAHAAAHHHAAAA!!!! The pressure is upped so much more. Now if you do in fact draw Barcalona, you must win the game. If not, any "mind game" of his in the future will be seen as a poor attempt at a Ferguson-style drubbing. I hope you do draw Barca. There better right now than any team in the world. It will be quite a game. And they'll actually show it in the US.
I'd wager that most Chelsea fans, the players, and the Portugese sensation himself would all agree that comment or no comment Chelsea has to win the game. You do have to win the aggregate series to advance, those are the rules, I don't see how this statement makes that anymore or less difficult. All I see it as is an attempt to boost the confidence of the squad. Barcelona is, in the opinion of most, the most dangerous team in the draw for Chelsea. The purpose of the statement was to pre-emptively state that he has confidence in his team's ability against any team in the world at this point. Clearly he has no impact on the draw, so why not make a comment like this? Perhaps it will calm some of the players' nerves coming up to the draw, and if they draw Barca, will give the players the confidence to go out there and give it their all without being timid. I think its important to remember that Chelsea's group stage was undoubtedly the weakest and I think the skipper knows that. Certainly a step up in pressure, intensity, and class from the likes of PSG and Porto (no, they certainly aren't last season's Porto) to the likes of Barcelona
This is unlikely to happened becos I believed the draw is fixed. They will keep the big teams for the later stages. It's about advertising milleage, TV rights and big $$$.