Another reason to love José Mourinho

My sense of grief at the thought of not spending more time in the company of a certain Mr. José Mourinho after his Inter Milan side crashed out against Manchester United last night has already abated. Not because I won’t miss the lovable Portuguese rogue. But because José is determined not to go down without a fight. Literally.

First, Mourinho does the gallant thing. Blame Italy, the country he will be returning to, and not Inter Milan or even Manchester United. Next, heap praise on his victorious rivals, claim they’re on for a clean sweep of trophies and all the time make sure that he – and not Manchester United – are the centre of attention. And then, as if that wasn’t quite enough, he punches a United fan in the face outside Old Trafford. I know I should be shocked, appalled even, but the truth is that this most recent act of incomprehensible insanity is precisely Mourinho’s crowning glory in my eyes. Just like watching Phil Brown sitting Hull down in the middle of the pitch to give them a half-time team talk dressing down, or Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi, it is precisely Mourinho’s violent unpredictability that makes him so enigmatic – enticing even.

The reality is that management at the top of the Premiership has become dull, sterilised even. Arsène Wenger‘s idea of losing his cool is signing a player who, shock horror, isn’t from France (queue Andrei Arshavin). While Rafa Benítez enjoys publically crumbling into pieces, he still does so in a quiet kind of way, while Chelsea have ditched Luiz Felipe Scolari for a more sanitised alternative. Even Sir Alex Ferguson, once famed for his outbursts and for kicking a boot at David Beckham, has mellowed. Now when he gets really angry, he simply buys a cheaper bottle of red wine from Oddbins to share with the opposition’s manager.

Mourinho once questioned if Barcelona‘s Lionel Messi was prone to over egging challenges in matches: “‘Can Messi be suspended for acting? Barcelona is a very cultural city. You know all about theatre. You have theatres of high quality.” At the time it was a controversial comment. Looking back at it now, it feels like a poignant reminder of precisely the kind of theatre the Premiership has lacked in Mourinho’s absence. Come home soon, José.

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Once more into the Bridge, dear friends

Luiz Felipe Scolari‘s transformation from the amiable Brazilian who first greeted the English media in June to the humbled and humbugged coach who was sacked by Chelsea yesterday afternoon was perfectly epitomised by his reaction to Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Hull City. The man who had handled footballs harshest critics, the national papers, with such aplomb in the summer could no longer bear to face their hacks after the 15th and 16th points of the season were dropped at Stamford Bridge. Instead, Ray Wilkins was thrust in front of the cameras. If Scolari could no longer manage to charm the pants off the people who make the real decisions in the Premiership, the media, then he was no longer worth his £6 million a year.

So what are the criteria for Chelsea‘s next manager, and who can possibly live up to the job? The general consensus seems to be that the next coach has to deliver results both in the Premiership and – crucially, given the gap between Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premiership table – in Europe, which arguably presents Chelsea with their best chance of silverware this season. On those grounds, it seems that Roberto Mancini has been discounted for his failure to get Inter Milan to perform in the Champions League. But I actually disagree. I don’t think Roman Abramovich, Chelsea‘s billionaire backer, craves success or even trophies. Instead, he dreams of being popular and loved – not just by Chelsea supporters, but by fans of the beautiful game across the globe. That means aesthetically pleasing, “total football”. It means lots and lots of goals and attacking verve. But most of all, I think it means resuming the project Scolari started back in June – building a relationship of jovial back-and-forth, even co-dependence with Britain’s press. That means one man in particular is on Abramovich’s radar – while another holds the hearts of the supporters.

Guus Hiddink has been consistently linked with the Chelsea job since José Mourinho was shown the door in September 2007. From the land that invented “total football”, Hiddink has an impressive CV that spans six different clubs across three countries not to mention managing the national teams of his native Holland, South Korea, Australia and Russia. With South Korea and Australia, he grasped the imagination of millions by leading teams of little fancied underdogs to magical World Cup runs. What’s more, in his latest job with Russia, he has built strong links with the Russian Abramovich and cemented his reputation for combining flair with a solid foundation. But his only stint with a club the size of Chelsea, at Real Madrid in the 1990s, lasted less than one barren season. And the key players from his current side who he may have earmarked to join him at Stamford Bridge nine months ago, namely Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, have already made the trip across to London to join rivals Tottenham and Arsenal respectively.

Whoever Abramovich turns to, there is only one man the fans want to see in the job – and only one man who could deliver Chelsea‘s owner with the adoration he has been longing for. And he is also plying his trade on the other side of the Thames at a rival club. West Ham‘s charismatic manager and Chelsea‘s best ever player Gianfranco Zola is the only name in football that could guarantee Abramovich popularity. Popularity, but not results. Even die-hard Arsenal and Manchester United fans wouldn’t be able to stop a little smile sneaking out over the thought of Zola at the helm at Stamford Bridge, assisted by Steve Clarke and perhaps even Roberto Di Matteo. Though admittedly that smile would only get bigger if the untested trio failed to deliver results. It may not happen yet, but sooner or later Zola is the appointment Abramovich is going to have to make to secure his legacy at Chelsea as the club’s guardian angel and not just some crackpot dictator.

Read more here

• Vote for who should take the reigns at Stamford Bridge
• The other front-runners
• Does anyone have the guts to take the job?

Mexico’s Golden Generation

Sven-Göran Eriksson‘s decision to become head coach of the Mexican football team last year after successfully rebuilding his reputation as a club manager at Manchester City may have seemed a little eccentric. But for all his failings, as both England manager and Premiership boss Sven has been nothing if not cooly analytical. Even his infamous selection of Theo Walcott for the 2006 World Cup was a carefully calculated gamble (albeit one that didn’t pay off).

Mexico is a country that is on the verge of a major break through on the international football scene. The Under-17s helped the country to win it’s first major global competition at the 2005 FIFA World Championship. They beat a much fancied Brazil side including Manchester United‘s Anderson and Arsenal midfielder Denílson in the final after thrashing a similarly talented Dutch side 4-0 in the last four. This week Sven announced the senior squad for Mexico’s international derby against the United States, and four of the World Championship juniors of 2005 have made the step up (with two more unavailable through suspention). So how are Mexico’s “Golden Generation” progressing under the Swede’s tutelage?

Guillermo Ochoa

The 23-year-old goalkeeper and one of the elder statesmen of the World Championship side, Ochoa was also in Mexixo’s 2006 World Cup squad as a back-up goalkeeper. Despite making over 150 appearances for his club side Club América, has struggled to fill the boots of goalkeeping legend Oswaldo Sánchez (who at 35 is still kicking around) and establish a regular spot in the senior international side.

 Omar Esparza

A talented right back who scored the second goal in the Under 17s 3-0 defeat of Brazil in the 2005 finals, two years after that game Esparza helped Mexico’s Under-20 side to a World Cup quarter final. Made his first senior appearance in August, and could well be the next player from that World Championship team to move to Europe, although he’ll need to bulk up before then.

Giovanni Dos Santos

Even before Dos Santos walked on to the pitch wearing the red, white and green of Mexico he had footballing pedigree. The son of Brazilian footballer and soccer school founder Zizinho, both Giovanni and brother Jonathan came from Barcelona stock. Set up half of all the goals scored by Mexico in the World Championship, he was named the tournament’s second best player. Has failed to make his mark at Tottenham since a summer move and has been linked to Chelsea and Portsmouth – but whoever lands him has an awfully big talent on their hands.

Carlos Vela

Top scorer in the World Championship with five goals, Vela earned himself a move to Arsenal after the tournament. Although we haven’t seen a great deal of him in the Premiership as yet, defenders in La Liga will be all too familiar with his attacking trickery after 64 appearances in Spanish football with Salamanca and Osasuna. Arsène Wenger brought Vela on in the game against West Ham last weekend, and if used a little less sparingly the Mexican has the talent to keep Arsenal‘s new signing Andrei Arshavin on the bench.

Certainly, if Sven can blend the new generation of players with more established stars like Barcelona‘s Rafael Márquez and former VfB Stuttgart midfielder Pável Pardo, the journey from England manager to Scandinavia’s man in Mexico could look more like a promotion than a career red herring.

Read more here

• Lawrence Donegan: Was Sven the sensible one?
• Mexico prepare for international derby
• Inside the mind of England’s Sven-Göran Eriksson

Danny boy

Meet the €30 million man who might just make Andrei Arshavin‘s protracted move to Arsenal finally materialise. Danny Alves has played five games for Portugal, had never appeared in European competition before this season and was the third biggest transfer of 2008 after Dimitar Berbatov and Robinho.

So what possessed Zenit Saint Petersburg to make Danny the most expensive player in Russian Premier League history? His record at former club Dynamo Moscow had been impressive if not awe inspiring. But it was the seemingly inevitable impending transfer of club colleague Arshavin last summer that forced Zenit’s hand. Faced with losing their most prized asset in the wake of his glorious performances at Euro 2008, Danny was brought in to take over the creative torch in their midfield.

However, Arshavin was then priced out of a move to any of the long list of admirers from the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A, and Zenit were left with two attacking midfielders in their team. The result is good news for Arsenal, but even better news for Danny. Arshavin has clearly been deemed surplus to requirements by the club in light of Danny’s impressive form. The Portuguese finished second in the Premier League scoring charts with 10 goals, and was named man of the match on his debut in the UEFA Super Cup win against the champions of Europe, Manchester United. In the Champions League earlier this season he was again named man of the match as he helped tame Juventus, while Danny capped the season with a first goal for Portugal against Brazil. In short, he well and truly stole his Russian counterpart’s thunder.

It does beg the question of whether Arshavin has the mental fortitude at the age of 27 to blend his mercurial talents with the likes of Tomáš Rosický, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie. And, perhaps more to the point, if Arsenal are chasing the wrong Zenit playmaker.

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• Arshavin’s agent gets desperate
• Just who is the Russian Kaka?
• Who cost an arm and a leg in 2008?