Post by Salem6 on Sept 14, 2004 17:12:03 GMT
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It was something Jose Mourinho said a couple of weeks back in response to criticism of Chelsea's so-called negative tactics.
"Football people in England should stop and ask themselves for what reason English football has not been successful abroad," came the spiky retort from the former Porto coach.
"Spanish, Italian and Portuguese clubs have all won UEFA competitions but England can't do it. Manchester United were the last ones to win the Champions League, back in 1999. Why is that? You have to think about it because it is not normal."
Much as it hurts, he may have a point. It might indeed, as he suggests, be the outright adventure of English ideals that prevents a team from going all the way. If true, proof will be provided soon enough. For tonight, ladies and gentlemen, the Champions League, at 13 years of age, thunders once more into our lives.
Over that period Serie A has produced eight finalists, Spain's La Liga six, Germany four and France two.
Something, somewhere is holding us back. There must be a reason for such stark underachievement. Is Premiership football, as Mourinho suggests, simply too attack-minded, too gung-ho to conquer a challenge requiring patience and caution? A possibility, I suppose, seeing as the last two winners, Porto and AC Milan, triumphed with conservative styles.
But what about Real Madrid? A hat-trick of wins in recent years, using a totally uninhibited approach, confound that theory.
The plot thickens even more when you consider the quality line-ups that, say, Manchester United have fielded over the years.
Then, of course, there is Arsenal, who have raised the benchmark in this country to a heady height. I ask you, if Arsène Wenger's `immortals' can't make a mark in Europe this time, what chance the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, United and indeed Celtic?
I wonder. Could this be the season that Arsenal break through? We seem, I know, to have been saying that forever, only for the quarter-finals to twice trip them up.
It is difficult, actually, to earmark where they must improve. Margins are minute when you get to this level. On the plus side, they have, if anything, added to last season's victorious equation when an entire League campaign was negotiated without defeat.
The flying Jose Antonio Reyes, now stronger and more confident, provides an extra dimension, whether on the left or supporting Thierry Henry. What's more, the brilliant Cesc Fabregas augments a midfield shimmering with a captain's desire. Patrick Vieira won't rest until he tracks down the Holy Grail. Swarming forward, there can be few doubts. It is difficult to name, Real Madrid included, a more potent force anywhere in Europe.
But this is what Mourinho was getting at: English clubs, honest and bold, sometimes attack with imprudent vigour to leave the back door slightly ajar. In Arsenal's case, however, I'm not sure that's the crux. More likely, after eight long years trying, the task has become more a psychological battle. Self-belief rather than tactics forms the main hurdle.
Elsewhere, the issues are varied. Liverpool, for instance, have a long way to go before getting anywhere near to repeating past glories. Yet, under Rafael Benitez, definite improvement awaits. Valencia's former coach knows all about Europe's choppy waters, how to set up a team who can ride the high rollers. In charge of navigation will be a classy midfield, boosted by the arrival of Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.
Yet finishing off moves could present more of a problem. A little lightweight up front, Liverpool will have to tread carefully through a group containing Monaco, losing finalists last term, and the perennial threat of Deportivo La Coruna.
Up the road, their old rivals at Old Trafford have rarely entered this competition with so little expectation. United's start in the Premiership has been worryingly flat. They will have to pep themselves up and get Wayne Rooney fit quickly to inject some much-needed oomph.
North of the border, it would be a fantastic effort if Celtic could qualify from a group dominated by the presence of Barcelona and Milan. Talk about adjusting from one style to the next. The backing of a passionate Celtic Park would seem their best hope.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have a bit more to go on. One League goal conceded so far points the way forward. With two Champions League winners in defence - Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira - joining John Terry and Wayne Bridge, Mourinho can count on discipline and wit.
Their group, what's more, is not too forbidding. Starting with Paris St-Germain this evening, they should suffer few hiccups on the way to the knock-out stages. Likewise Arsenal, who play host to PSV Eindhoven.
All that remains is to take the next step. Imagine if Chelsea, by stifling opponents, by choosing their attacking raids carefully, progressed all the way to Istanbul on May 25. Mourinho proved with Porto that anything is possible. This time, finally, that might come to include some English success.