The Mourinho Thread

[Fulham Broadway 16,834]

Got it spot on, once again, in a big game/cup final. This is what puts him miles apart from the Rodgers/Pelligrini/Wengers of the world.

He said after the game finals are not there to play, they are there to win. - exactly what zouma was in there for, not to play, but to help us win, by stopping the spurs threat, where they ripped us apart in the 5-3 at the lane.

Masterstroke, everyone spent all week trying to work out what players and formation we should play.

Trust in Jose.

[Tautvix 1,321]

THE SPECIAL ONE!

THE BLUE ONE!

THE HAPPY ONE!

[Joker10 946]

wwoooowww... footballing knowledge 0 (to sum it up).

so playing in a way that negates the opposition team's total attack is simply "parking the bus". un-fucking-imaginable.

how can some people be so naive is beyond me.

Wow... no words. I'll just leave it at that.

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Jose' son on Instagram: " This is what a real club looks like!".

[Madmax 9,219]

Meh, the absolute balls-to-the-wall commitment I saw today entertained me enough alright.

People can keep their fancy passing triangles and third man releases (there are times for those as well, it is doubtless), I just know nothing stirs my balls more than Chelsea getting over the line and winning stuff.

[stroey 2,525]

Final whistle verdict: Very mature victory

Jose Mourinho was delighted after seeing his side crowned Capital One Cup kings courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, the club’s fifth success in the competition in our history.

Man of the Match John Terry, outstanding throughout, set us on our way with a goal on the stroke of half-time, reacting quickest to pounce on a loose ball inside the Tottenham penalty area after they’d failed to deal with a Willian free-kick, and firing into the back of the net.

In truth, there had been little to choose between the teams up until that point, but 11 minutes into the second half we extended our advantage when Diego Costa, a constant threat, took a Cesc Fabregas pass in his stride and beat Hugo Lloris at his near post with a left-footed strike which deflected off the leg of Kyle Walker.

Eden Hazard came closest to adding a third when he curled an effort inches wide of the far post, and ultimately we were able to see the game out with Petr Cech seldom called into action.

Speaking to the media after the game, Mourinho started by praising the opposition.

‘First of all I want to say that in the middle of my happiness is space to think about Mauricio Pochettino, his staff and Tottenham as a team and a club,’ said the Blues boss. ‘I met him in Spain many years ago as a player and then when he was a young manager when I was at Real Madrid. He came to England, proved himself, nobody game him anything for free.

‘He did fantastic work at Southampton, came to a big club like Tottenham and is building a fantastic team. They gave us a hard final, they made us be humble and think about the game strategically.

‘The second thing I want to say is that now I don’t think about John Terry, Azpilicueta or Diego Costa. I think about Courtois, because without him there would have been no final, we would have lost against Liverpool. I think about Matic, Filipe Luis and Oscar, the guys who didn’t have a chance to play. I think about Schwarzer, Salah, Schurrle, all the guys that started the season with us, they are all winners.’

He then analysed the game itself

‘We played to win, they were the team they are and we were strategic. We were comfortable and found a solution to keep the stability after Matic’s suspension. I’m very happy because a team that isn’t very mature, a team with lots of young players, adapted very well. We changed the position of the triangle in midfield, the game we played was one of a very mature team, which we are not, so I’m very happy.’

Mourinho spoke about the importance of the victory for all connected with the club

‘For me it’s important to feel like I’m a kid, before the game I had the same feelings as my first final. It’s important to feel the same happiness after the game. I know I have a team to build, which is what we are doing but it’s difficult for me to live without winning things even if we are doing the work to be stable for many years. It’s important for me, the boys and for the club it’s another cup.

‘It’s the first trophy for a new group of players. You have Cech, Terry and Drogba but after that everyone belongs to a new group of players, so for the team it’s very important.’

Mourinho was full of praise for Kurt Zouma, who played in defensive midfield

‘It’s very difficult for a central defender to play there, they are pressed in their faces, you have to think quicker and make decisions quicker, but our new Marcel Desailly worked very hard during the week and the kid did a fantastic job for us.

‘With just Fabregas and Ramires against a team like Spurs, we would have been in trouble because they move the ball very well. From the first minute we pressed them high, Lloris was building high instead of short. We didn’t give them the game they were expecting.’

The Portuguese explained why Petr Cech started ahead of Thibaut Courtois

‘I chose him because this was his competition, we made a decision to make Courtois our first-choice keeper because he is the young one, the future and he is amazing for his age. We said this would be Petr’s competition, but when I started giving him a Champions League or Premier League match now and again, I opened the door for myself to play Courtois in this competition. I wanted to play him away at Liverpool and we were successful with that. They are both doing so well that everybody feels comfortable with every decision. I try to be fair and Petr deserved to play today but we all know Courtois deserves the cup as much as him.’

He also spoke about Nemanja Matic, who missed the game through suspension

‘The boy was sad, we were sad for him. He made the speech in the dressing room where he expressed his pain and asked the players to have the pleasure he couldn’t have. For me the real pain was to see a player [Ashley Barnes] play yesterday and Matic not to play today.’

He admitted he had difficulties keeping news of Liverpool’s win over Manchester City away from the players

‘The perfect day was to win the final. I prepared them for an impossible mission, which was to not know the Man City result. I didn’t want a television in the hotel or on the bus. I didn’t want any reactions to that, we were successful but one member of my staff, Silvinho, jumped up on the bus. I wanted to kill the guy, a member of my own staff broke the rule. I wanted to stop them having a reaction and focus on what they had to do, we had a very difficult job against Tottenham.’

Mourinho felt Zouma’s inclusion allowed Cesc Fabregas to influence the game higher up the pitch, where he laid on our second goal

‘It was important Fabregas had the freedom to put his feet in that area. If we played without Zouma I would have needed to play Fabregas and Ramires in a position to keep the stability for the team and he wouldn’t have been there. Sometimes you are not happy with yourself but I’m very happy with myself because knew it was a decision whereby if I lost the final the experts, the ones who know more than me, would kill me.

‘It wasn’t cautious. When you are going from the first minute to reach Mason and Bentaleb in their half, so they cannot build from the back, it’s not cautious.’

He also spoke about the character shown by Diego Costa

‘He needs the team, without them it’s difficult to do anything. He needs to keep his nature as a person and a player. He played a final at the top of his motivation, there was no yellow card because he did nothing to deserve a yellow card.

‘Diego has to be Diego, to feel the differences between playing in a Latin country and playing here, and I think he’s doing it very well for us.’

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2015/03/final-whistle-verdict--capital-one-cup-final.html

[Barbara 15,149]

Well, finished my work for Chelsea Brasil, can finally write my posts properly.

I think he was spot on today. Yes, I was one among the people complaining about the lineup, but that was because I thought he was playing Cahill in the pivot.

Maybe I should have waited the match start, but I was anxious, woke up at 6am for no reason other than I even dreamed about the final, and now that I'm talking about it, in my dream JT scored the first goal, but it ended 1x1....

So I needed to keep talking and I was infuriated with the idea of Cahill playing in the pivot ahead of other much more competent players. I was wrong, my first post in the live thread match after the game started I retracted from my previous comments and hailed José for having the balls of taking such a big risk. It was a big risk to have a 20yo with little experience in general to play in a position I suppose he has never played before.

But even in my personal riot, I said many times I didn't have a problem with the system, whether it was a 5-3-2 or 5-2-3 or 4-1-4-1, and at the end of the day I still don't have a problem with the system. I think we didn't play football in the first half at all. We were roofing the ball every time we recovered it in our half, we bypassed Cesc the whole of the first half and that only made us look bad. If he's going to be our #10 the ball HAS to go through him. Hazard had a bad first half (actually I'm still waiting for a big performance by Eden in decisive games such as late UCL KO and finals - although I guess that's only his second final for us?), as well as Willian and both of them killed the few chances we had to attack. But the team in general was much better in the second and Cesc was amazing them because the ball actually arrived to him.

That should shut the myth believers for a couple of days that 1) he can't in the second half of the season and 2) he can't play well in big games. Key words being 'a couple of days'.

Diego Costa and JT were immense in their main roles. DC was much better today than the previous two matches - which shows that he needs to play games to be in his best performance. I'm disappointed on Courtois - he kept a sour face most of the time during the celebrations. I mean I understand you didn't play the final, but be happy for a title you helped to win.

This post fits better in the match thread than here, but I wanted it to be here because despite saying that was what I thought the worst lineup decision made by Jose, I still back him up. I couldn't back him up with Cahill in the pivot, but that wasn't what he's done. He didn't change the system imo, we still played 4-2-3-1 and he showed some cojones by playing Kurt in that position. And he was so happy, you can say a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was feeling the pressure and I hope and expect to see a more carefree Chelsea in the league as well as a more carefree Mourinho in the way he approaches matches. I don't have the same problem some here have with him being extra-pragmatic. I wish he wasn't as much, but I can live with it. My problems with him this season are small and related to something else (taking too long to make changes, being a bit stubborn sometimes).

I've never had a problem saying I'm wrong. I was wrong with my assumption that Cahill would play DM, I admitted that, but I will never say I'm ashamed for sharing my opinion. I'm an opinionated person and I believe forums are made of opinions. Being proven wrong is just part of the process.

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

Should quote all the moaners who couldn't handle not going out and doing a Liverpool, because they win trophies all the time?

[robdog 2,084]

Should quote all the moaners who couldn't handle not going out and doing a Liverpool, because they win trophies all the time?

IMHO they are probably gooners that pose as CFC supporters

[The_Flash 1,144]

So happy for us winning the trophy but pretty amazed people are not just celebrating the result but moaning that's Joses not the perfect manager WTF??

[Barbara 15,149]

best.manager.ever. LOL

[didierforever 7,349]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

So you are telling me that you would have been more entertained if chelsea had attacked rather than won the natch. That fans would be happier to watch a gung-ho performance by their club even if it means getting our asses kicked.

A club's first and foremost and prinary duty is to win. And that's what we did. Using terms like "parking the bus" when we had almost the same number of shots and better attacks and oppurtunities is idiotic to say the least. We used zouma to counter their most potent threat (eriksen) who destroyed us the last time. Thats called being tactically aware and adapting to a situation. If you can't understand that, I can't really help you.

So cointer attacking football is a small team tactic now? Was real madrid a small team last season when they used the same tactic against bayern? Does that nake them a stoke or their CL win any lesser?

Also, please tell me whats the point of having a manager for the team if the tactics used in a league game and cup final are supposed to be the same. Why pay jose more than 10mil pounds a year? Why not just let the plauers decide what they want to do. I mean, we got trashed by spurs, absolutely battered, then we come in, tinker a bit woth our tactics which help us win a silverware, and suddenly that's disgraceful???

I just feel people want to crib and moan for any or whatever reason. I am done with such kind of "fans". Can't be arsed to not enjoy a cup final victory as well as city losing and getting us one more step closer to the PL.

[lucio 5,418]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

Watching your team play a cup final will always be entertaining. Whether you bide your time and pick them off, or do your fancy arsenal passes.

Sometimes I will be critical of our approach, lpool psg away. But. I can't think why anyone could have any complaints today. Should be grateful, the players fought through head injuries to get us that trophy , and tbh did some good attacks in the second half... there is never a guarantee we will keep winning things.

[Polo7 3,496]

I thought we played well given the fact that we had Ramires and Zouma in midfield. Neither are renowned for their passing ability. People need to chill the fuck out.

[The_Flash 1,144]

Sometimes I am embarrassed by some people on here

[Laylabelle 9,351]

I'd rather win then play pretty pretty football that just ends up with passes going into the other teams net.I dont think we played boring football today either.We did really go for it and got the result.I was pretty entertained maybe because of knowing what was at stake.I'd rather do what we do (minus the shit performances of late) then be Arsenal and entertain yet have sod all to show for it at the end

First trophy of the season and only trip to Wembley this season so not bad considering now for the big one!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Can I just say, he got it absolutely spot on today, and Zouma in midfield was a stroke of genius.

Other managers, like Pep for example, get all the praise in the world for tactical "hipster moves" like playing a CM as a striker or a full back as holding midfield, but I thought that giving Zouma this role, in such a big game was a great example of effective pragmatism, and just pure genius. Deserves massive credit for it, imo.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

I am not Jose's biggest fan sometime as others know well but today I think he proved us and many 'pundits' wrong with his tactics. We didn't hold on for dear life at the end like a Wigan/Sunderland/Stoke...etc would have done, we won comfortably and could have been more if we really wanted with those late counter attacks.

I agree negative football is not good but sometime in a final it is necessary, in 2 months no one will care how we played today but this title will forever be in our memory and history. Saying that I don't like his tactic away from homes against big teams, but that is the debate for another day when we (inevitable repeat) it. For now lets enjoy this trophy that Jose has brought us against a good Spurs team who fucked us 2 months ago.