Just how did Chelsea win the Champions League?

“Offense wins tickets, defence wins championships”

Did you watch Spain at all at Euro 2012? Time and time again there was a constant defence from opposing teams? And what did spain do? THEY ATTACKED. IMO Chelsea did win through luck and Barca’s arrogance. Not because of defense

It’s true that teams cheat, and that Chelsea played ugly football, but it’s time to stop this “coulda, woulda, shoulda” nonsense, and actually recognize that teams don’t rely solely on cheats, or luck. Chelsea won on D, which does need a lot of luck anyways.

They won by cheating. In football it is deemed as cheating when a players feigns injury in order to gain an advantage. Drogba did this numerous times against Barcelona and therefore should have been sent off . These are facts. My opinion is hat Chelsea are a disgusting team to watch full of cheating and negativity and any true football fan will know who are the best teams irrelevant of who wins what.

Haokip. I watched the games, you know. 8 goals in 7 matches, I’d say, isn’t exactly offensive football. Sure, they played with their signature flair, but they didn’t score very often. The good news on that, they conceded even less often than that. I’m not sure if it was that Torres wasn’t playing his best at the time or not (he is one of Spain’s top players), but, while the magnificent possession game was unchanged, it seemed to lack the punch they needed to blow everyone away as usual.

barca used the attacking method chelsea beat them both home nd away sme goes to to bayern. remembr nepoli were leadin 3-1 when di matteo took over just to make a comebck . so u wana say that it was luck up to the finals , i mean they win the FA cup i gues thats luck nd all the matches to the finals what kind of luck doesnt run out? chelsea did it they did what bayern madrid nd barca couldnt do….

DISCLAIMER – Chelsea Fan

Any team that wins a competition like the Champions League has to have luck. ManU rode their luck against Chelsea in Moscow (Lampard did hit the post in ET and the slip). Even magnificent Barca had moments last year where some luck pulled them through. That is why we play the game. Great teams put themselves in position to be on the receiving end of lady luck’s gifts. Chelsea did that by keeping the game close and taking their chances when they had them – something Barca and Bayern did not.

Against any team your setup, structure and tactics are based on your teams strengths (Chelsea defense) and your opposition weaknesses (Barca has no plan B or height to score). To do otherwise simply because of a desire to play “pretty” is simply bad coaching and such a manager would quickly be out of a job at the top clubs. Chelsea had a difficult hand dealt to them (especially in final with suspensions) where they were clearly out manned in the midfield going forward and they adjusted their tactics to minimize the impact of that weakness. Good coaching. Was it pretty, not at all. but you have to put your team in a position to win and to get lucky.

In my opinion, Bayern lost the game when they took Muller off and changed their shape. They were overloading the midfield denying Chelsea any possession. They put on another defensive player and pulled a body out of the middle of the field where they were dominating. The game flow turned even after that point and Chelsea got a chance…

Also, the reason Drogba will always be in the list of the best, is because a chance is all he needs and he punishes teams that let down their mental focus for just a moment. He would be absolutely terrifying to play against.

It is very, very unlikely that Chelsea could repeat the feat they just did (just as Greece will never win another Euro) and this campaign showed how much Chelsea does need to improve their squad – especially in the midfield. They still try to play like they have Essien in his prime running the middle but that day is long gone unfortunately. Karma, however, has a way of balancing out things over time (even ManU got a taste of it this year although they are still due a lot more misfortune to balance their books 🙂 ). Bayern seems to be due some luck…

Regarding the penalty misses, Robben has been having issues lately and would not have been my pick. His take clearly lacked confidence and Cech looked confident. Messi, wow. if you watch the replay, he was going right all the way and changed what he was going to do when he saw Cech go that way also. He flattened and lowered his foot to try and go over him. A last instant adjustment that Messi makes flawlessly 95% of the time. Luck smiled again, but if a Gk studies film and recognizes patterns in players approaches and is able to guess the right way and forces the best player in the world to make a difficult last instant adjustment sending the ball a little higher than expected, luck becomes more likely….

Tula,

It is my understanding what you are trying to get across is that it was Di Mattoo’s thought-out tactic that saved the day for Chelsea. Now you yourself don’t believe that, do you? If not, tell me if this guy had also foreseen two decisive penalties that would be missed by two leading players in the world, and that quite a few shots would hit the posts to Chelsea’s favor and that key player of Benfica woudl be sent off upon the increasing pace of pressure from Benfica and most importantly that Chelsea would get lucky again in the penalty shootout.

Why is it so hard to admit that it is a combination of factors including sheer luck that paved the path for Chelsea? Now let me ask the very “what if” question you posed? Would you be pouring praize on Di Matteo for his defensive play against Benfica had they been kicked out having spent the entire second half of the second leg in their penalty box at Stamford Bridge?

Why would you think that Chelsea’s ” out of blue success” give you the previlige of undermining decent clubs such as Arsenal or Liverpool, which incidentally have had a decent season in EPL? I am not even a fan of these clubs but your snobbish attitude toward them is simply uncalled-for.

Brad, you are telling me that spain won the wc and euro by playing defensive football!!!!!…..really?…. Don’t just look up the statistics and judge the way a team played without watching the actual game. You also mentioned that spain were also helped by a bit of luck, you may be right,..but spain make their own luck by playing good,attractive and positive football whereas chelsea were just really2 lucky and nothing more……and i said ‘lucky’ all the time because even their owner abramovich himself said,”we were very lucky to win the ucl this season”…
I don’t have to complain if the club i suppport were to win the ucl and not even the opposing players and fans will because barcelona will never play like chelsea.
And andy, how can you compare qpr players with that of chelsea?????

Hey hey hey… I’m a chelsea fan OK. So I’m enjoying this moment and surely wouldn’t want to be an Arsenal fan right now OK? All this talk of ‘ugly’, ‘negative’ is just enough. I know you want to see beautiful football, but you need to remember that Chelsea was missing 4 important players on the night. Chelsea did not have 2 swift wingers that can terrorize any defence in the world (remember what they did to Madrid). So tell me, what did you expect Di Matteo to do? Play ‘romantic’, ‘attractive’ football with Bayern and loose? So tell me, if that was that happened, would all of you be pouring accolades on Chelsea and Di Matteo right now? Praising them for the ‘beautiful’ football they played, despite losing the game 3-1 or 4-1?

Common, it’s Bayern, Barca, Benfica and Napoli that should be blamed for not having an answer to Chelsea’s defensive style. I agree that offensive, romantic football is great to watch, and it’s really nice to be able to place in the midfield and your opponent’s half, that doesn’t mean you should rely solely on that. A good team should be able to defend well, play well in the midfield and also attack well. A good manager must also be able to adjust the Team’s strategy such that no matter the type of opposition you face, you can still WIN.. WIN… WIN, which is the most important thing at the the end of the game.

Most of you here are talking as if Chelsea can’t pass the ball at all. Of course, we’ve proven it over and over again that we can pass the ball – but I agree that that is not our strongest area. So when we come against the Kings of Ball-passing (Barcelona), you expect me to pass the ball and lose the game? Common. What Chelsea did in the last 3 months was to take each game differently, using the best strategy that suited each ocassion. Whether you want to agree or not, it’s got them the Champions League!

Remember, Chelsea is not AC Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man United or Liverpool that have won almost everything there is to win already. They have established themselves as big wigs in club football. So, they can afford to lose matches anyhow. Look at Liverpool, finished 8th in the League with only the Carling Cup to show for it, yet everybody still sees them as European giants. If Chelsea were in the same situation, I know what you would say.

So, please, stop all the complaining and welcome Chelsea to the circle of European Big Boys.

Blue is the color, football is the Game

im just want to say that Chelsea win the thropy with their own style under interim manager Di Matteo. Every team are dreaming of winning of CL as much as they can just like Real Madrid or Barca/Bayern/Liverpool.. If you can win the Throphy with the way Clesea did, why should we complaining bout that. Football need strategy to win the game.. if your oppenent play attacking style and they are very strong team.. i dont think you will put just 2 defenders to defend and yes, im agree with the luck.. if you see Chelsea Vs Barca match, great footbal play was lost with defensive strategy because they never play with a defensive team like Chelsea did. we cannot blame Chelsea because of the way they played football. it’s all about to win the game. Next time Barca need a strategy to fight and win a game with a defensive team. not just passing and passing all the time until the end of 90th minutes.. if you watch English primier leauge’s last game against Manchester City and QPR.. QPR play defensive but i really like the way Man City play compare with Barca Vs Chelsea..

Ha Ha, I got what you meant, Mardon.

Haokip, the style is still similar, as it’s the fear of losing. And you say lucky all the time, just like Mardon. Spain needed luck. They were no offensive powerhouse at the WC like how Germany and Argentina were (both teams scored more than 2 goals on at least 2 occasions, Germany winning 3 games by scoring 4 times in each match alone). They were a defensive team, only conceding 2 goals all WC long. Not to mention, they only scored 8 goals in 7 matches, that’s the lowest ever by a team that went on the win the Cup. And they needed luck, too: most of the scoring chances during the Final were in favor of the Netherlands. Spain needed good, solid D, as well as luck, to win 1-0. It wasn’t pretty, but I don’t think Spanish fans care. I don’t think Italian fans, or Chelsea fans, care either.

And about Chelsea fans. . you think I’m one of them? Definitely NOT. I’ve already told you, albeit on a different article that you’ve probably not read since (which would be the reason you don’t know this, and that’s easily forgivable) I’m a MANCHESTER UNITED fan. I’m a Red Devil, and have been since I was only 4 years old. Supporting Chelsea was no easy choice in the UCL final. My only basis for it is that they were the underdogs, and also had earned their spot in the final with decent, if lucky, D.

Also, “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships” does apply here, as it is CHELSEA we are talking about, so it is valid to use that as an argument here, Haokip. Notice that high-scoring teams Barca and Bayern, were ousted by a defensive approach that was ugly, that needed luck, that gave a lot of shots to the opposition, but still won the Champions League final. Same goes for Spain.

And I’ve said that I’ve watched football since I was very young. So I’ve been watching football longer than you think, Haokip. Another thing, I play forward, I believe I’ve said this earlier too, just not in this comment: I play forward. I love offense, hate defense. I love the beautiful, romanticist side of football. But the thing is, just like Romanticism eventually gave way to Realism in the literary world, so it will with football. It’s been a tussle for 50 years or so, but realism has even effected Brazil; they won the 1994 WC on defense. And in 2002, while they did have a good deal of offensive flair, it still wasn’t the signature flair that they produced in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Jeez, I didn’t even noticed I’d typed this much, haha. And Mardon, I think Ayodele did mean “not how far but how well” as “not how well but how far”, much like you meant to say “The ends justify the means”.

My personal belief on that, Mardon, is that, so long as the defense becomes the terribly ugly style of catenaccio from the 60s and 80s, and it’s also within the rules, the ends do justify the means. If it’s defense, so be it. If it’s luck, ha, well, SO BE IT. I’m sure you wouldn’t really be complaining if it was your beloved club (and I’m saying this to you, too, Haokip) that did defensive football too.

The funny thing is I also used a saying incorrctly in my comment addressed to brad above. It should be read” The ends justify the means” not vice-verse.

Ayodele Damilare,

Thank you for trying to make a point by your ” not how far but how well” saying, though I am all positive that the very saying turns out to contradict your position on Chelsea ” deserving” win.

If you are referring to Chelsea by this saying, let me interpret it: Chelsea reached the furtherest point possible by not demonstrating “well” football.

If you are referring to Barca or Bayern, they did not reach as far as Chelsea did but did demonstrate ” well” football.

Either way, this saying does further consolidate what most people in this room are trying to convey: Chelsea got the farthest point possible by employing ugly football, which is inferior to Barca and Bayern’s doing the opposite.

Unless you wanna remake it like ” not how well but how far”, your point does not hold any water.

Brad,of course i enjoyed watching barca and madrid as every football fans in the world would…but can you say the same with chelsea?
About italy, you are right italy were defensive but not like chelsea because the italians do not defend for the whole 90 mins, and besides you cannnot compare italy’s defensive play with chelsea because the italians had complete control of the matches while playing defensively and this is what we called a good defensive technique in football but we cannot say the same about chelsea who completely lost control of every match they played
Who said the time for football romantism is over????…did you start watching football this year??? Haven’t you heard about spain winning the last wc and euro by playing great offensive football,man city who win epl are offensive,real madrid in la liga,borussia dortmund in germany all played attractive football……and your often repeated line’ offensse sell ticket,defence won trophy’ is valid only for your beloved chelsea who cannot even defend well

Thank you all for your comments…….but remember this saying ” not how far….but, how well ” so if there is any of you that’s still agitating about Chelsea’s all time dream that already came to pass……you are wasting your time…..cause they deserve to lift the trophy.

“Offense sells tickets, Defense wins championships”

Brad, you seem to love this saying. If it is true, then Chelsea is going to have a tough time henseforward financially because no fans want to watch them play. This may cast doubt on the possiblity of Di Matteo’s further stay in Chelsea so long as the club is owned by a businessman whose mission is ” one more dollar”.

It could be really tough to be Chelsea fan from now on if the club keeps playing like this. Not all fans can bear watching their club defending to death throughout 90 mins with the possiblity of their conceding a single decisive goal. Have another look at the chelsea fans during Chelsea’s survival throughtout those CL ties FOLLOWING Di Matteo’s charge. Who would want to spend money on tickets that respresent FEAR?

Plus, Chelsea’s success mostly earned through a stroke of luck cannot change the philosophies the clubs such as Barca and Bayern have been following for long. Realistically, they Barca did watch Chelsea play aganist Benfica, while Bayern did observe them play against Barca, but they stuck to their way and philisophy for the sake of reasonable fans whose support is not limited to their club’s winning championships. Winning champinships like CL by adhering to ” the means justify the ends” will only benefit club owners. The true fans are there to enjoy their teams’ deserving and inspiring matches. As long as such fans exist, your expectation of defensive games dominating the football world in the future is not going to happen.

Okay, Haokip, you want to win with style, watch Barca and Real Madrid play against La Liga minnows and tear them apart by 6 or 7 goal margins. Or, go to Youtube and watch the videos of the 1958 and 1970 World Cup finals where Brazil does likewise to all who oppose.

I’m guessing you don’t like Italy’s national team, either, Haokip? They are also very defensive. Seriously, what’s your take on them? Are they a bunch of lucky, ugly footballers who rob everyone of a goal, let alone a win?

It’s obvious that defense isn’t pretty Haokip, I’ve said that myself. I love offensive football.

Thing is, though, the time for football romanticism, sadly, is OVER. The way 4-time World Champions Italy, as well as our new European champions, Chelsea, play, is defense, not offense.

“Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.”

I know, I know, I say this stuff over and over again, but only because the people I’m arguing with don’t bother to change what they say:

“chelsea” (is) “the most unattractive teams in the world. . .” “lots of luck. . .”
Stuff like that, it’s the same things over and over.

Important is to win , not the way how you win , mateo is not atractive but he take chelsea to roof of footbal World -this few comentator here is jeleausus -where is real , barcelona , bayern ,milan and others greatest as you say – they are no where , i am not fan of chelsea but i can only say this -congratulation to chelsea best team in europe

What did di matteo do?…he made chelsea one of the most unattractive team in the world who are not willing to play football and are happy just to kick the ball out of their penalty box. They robbed the title from bayern. Di matteo should be sacked because his success this season was only because of drogba and lots of luck as well and not because of him and if drogba choose to leave next season they will not achieve anything. He will not be second time lucky

I like entire squad of c.f.c and management. I wish owner Roman listen and digest what RDM did, he should consider giving fulltime job to RDM. CFC oyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, oyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
The Kings of EUROPEAN

lol brand…….i donr like chelsie…especialy drogba…why?becouse he is full of himself…..like he is the best in the fucking team…he isnt…..thats the problem…but still they are not the best…this was just luck….i give my support to barca and real…thay are fantastic….

Offense sells tickets, Defense wins championships.

Should fans and owners want to watch chelsea play in the penalty field wetting their pants after each strike of opponents(benfica 2nd leg, barca both legs, bayern 120 min), they may follow your advice.

Should fans and owners want to watch chelsea play in the penalty field wetting their pants after each strike of opponents(benfica 2nd leg, barca both legs, bayern 120 min), they may follow your advice.

Offense sells tickets, Defense wins championships.

lol brand…….i donr like chelsie…especialy drogba…why?becouse he is full of himself…..like he is the best in the fucking team…he isnt…..thats the problem…but still they are not the best…this was just luck….i give my support to barca and real…thay are fantastic….

I like entire squad of c.f.c and management. I wish owner Roman listen and digest what RDM did, he should consider giving fulltime job to RDM. CFC oyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, oyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
The Kings of EUROPEAN

What did di matteo do?…he made chelsea one of the most unattractive team in the world who are not willing to play football and are happy just to kick the ball out of their penalty box. They robbed the title from bayern. Di matteo should be sacked because his success this season was only because of drogba and lots of luck as well and not because of him and if drogba choose to leave next season they will not achieve anything. He will not be second time lucky

Important is to win , not the way how you win , mateo is not atractive but he take chelsea to roof of footbal World -this few comentator here is jeleausus -where is real , barcelona , bayern ,milan and others greatest as you say – they are no where , i am not fan of chelsea but i can only say this -congratulation to chelsea best team in europe

Okay, Haokip, you want to win with style, watch Barca and Real Madrid play against La Liga minnows and tear them apart by 6 or 7 goal margins. Or, go to Youtube and watch the videos of the 1958 and 1970 World Cup finals where Brazil does likewise to all who oppose.

I’m guessing you don’t like Italy’s national team, either, Haokip? They are also very defensive. Seriously, what’s your take on them? Are they a bunch of lucky, ugly footballers who rob everyone of a goal, let alone a win?

It’s obvious that defense isn’t pretty Haokip, I’ve said that myself. I love offensive football.

Thing is, though, the time for football romanticism, sadly, is OVER. The way 4-time World Champions Italy, as well as our new European champions, Chelsea, play, is defense, not offense.

“Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.”

I know, I know, I say this stuff over and over again, but only because the people I’m arguing with don’t bother to change what they say:

“chelsea” (is) “the most unattractive teams in the world. . .” “lots of luck. . .”
Stuff like that, it’s the same things over and over.

“Offense sells tickets, Defense wins championships”

Brad, you seem to love this saying. If it is true, then Chelsea is going to have a tough time henseforward financially because no fans want to watch them play. This may cast doubt on the possiblity of Di Matteo’s further stay in Chelsea so long as the club is owned by a businessman whose mission is ” one more dollar”.

It could be really tough to be Chelsea fan from now on if the club keeps playing like this. Not all fans can bear watching their club defending to death throughout 90 mins with the possiblity of their conceding a single decisive goal. Have another look at the chelsea fans during Chelsea’s survival throughtout those CL ties FOLLOWING Di Matteo’s charge. Who would want to spend money on tickets that respresent FEAR?

Plus, Chelsea’s success mostly earned through a stroke of luck cannot change the philosophies the clubs such as Barca and Bayern have been following for long. Realistically, they Barca did watch Chelsea play aganist Benfica, while Bayern did observe them play against Barca, but they stuck to their way and philisophy for the sake of reasonable fans whose support is not limited to their club’s winning championships. Winning champinships like CL by adhering to ” the means justify the ends” will only benefit club owners. The true fans are there to enjoy their teams’ deserving and inspiring matches. As long as such fans exist, your expectation of defensive games dominating the football world in the future is not going to happen.

Thank you all for your comments…….but remember this saying ” not how far….but, how well ” so if there is any of you that’s still agitating about Chelsea’s all time dream that already came to pass……you are wasting your time…..cause they deserve to lift the trophy.

Brad,of course i enjoyed watching barca and madrid as every football fans in the world would…but can you say the same with chelsea?
About italy, you are right italy were defensive but not like chelsea because the italians do not defend for the whole 90 mins, and besides you cannnot compare italy’s defensive play with chelsea because the italians had complete control of the matches while playing defensively and this is what we called a good defensive technique in football but we cannot say the same about chelsea who completely lost control of every match they played
Who said the time for football romantism is over????…did you start watching football this year??? Haven’t you heard about spain winning the last wc and euro by playing great offensive football,man city who win epl are offensive,real madrid in la liga,borussia dortmund in germany all played attractive football……and your often repeated line’ offensse sell ticket,defence won trophy’ is valid only for your beloved chelsea who cannot even defend well

Ayodele Damilare,

Thank you for trying to make a point by your ” not how far but how well” saying, though I am all positive that the very saying turns out to contradict your position on Chelsea ” deserving” win.

If you are referring to Chelsea by this saying, let me interpret it: Chelsea reached the furtherest point possible by not demonstrating “well” football.

If you are referring to Barca or Bayern, they did not reach as far as Chelsea did but did demonstrate ” well” football.

Either way, this saying does further consolidate what most people in this room are trying to convey: Chelsea got the farthest point possible by employing ugly football, which is inferior to Barca and Bayern’s doing the opposite.

Unless you wanna remake it like ” not how well but how far”, your point does not hold any water.

The funny thing is I also used a saying incorrctly in my comment addressed to brad above. It should be read” The ends justify the means” not vice-verse.

Ha Ha, I got what you meant, Mardon.

Haokip, the style is still similar, as it’s the fear of losing. And you say lucky all the time, just like Mardon. Spain needed luck. They were no offensive powerhouse at the WC like how Germany and Argentina were (both teams scored more than 2 goals on at least 2 occasions, Germany winning 3 games by scoring 4 times in each match alone). They were a defensive team, only conceding 2 goals all WC long. Not to mention, they only scored 8 goals in 7 matches, that’s the lowest ever by a team that went on the win the Cup. And they needed luck, too: most of the scoring chances during the Final were in favor of the Netherlands. Spain needed good, solid D, as well as luck, to win 1-0. It wasn’t pretty, but I don’t think Spanish fans care. I don’t think Italian fans, or Chelsea fans, care either.

And about Chelsea fans. . you think I’m one of them? Definitely NOT. I’ve already told you, albeit on a different article that you’ve probably not read since (which would be the reason you don’t know this, and that’s easily forgivable) I’m a MANCHESTER UNITED fan. I’m a Red Devil, and have been since I was only 4 years old. Supporting Chelsea was no easy choice in the UCL final. My only basis for it is that they were the underdogs, and also had earned their spot in the final with decent, if lucky, D.

Also, “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships” does apply here, as it is CHELSEA we are talking about, so it is valid to use that as an argument here, Haokip. Notice that high-scoring teams Barca and Bayern, were ousted by a defensive approach that was ugly, that needed luck, that gave a lot of shots to the opposition, but still won the Champions League final. Same goes for Spain.

And I’ve said that I’ve watched football since I was very young. So I’ve been watching football longer than you think, Haokip. Another thing, I play forward, I believe I’ve said this earlier too, just not in this comment: I play forward. I love offense, hate defense. I love the beautiful, romanticist side of football. But the thing is, just like Romanticism eventually gave way to Realism in the literary world, so it will with football. It’s been a tussle for 50 years or so, but realism has even effected Brazil; they won the 1994 WC on defense. And in 2002, while they did have a good deal of offensive flair, it still wasn’t the signature flair that they produced in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Jeez, I didn’t even noticed I’d typed this much, haha. And Mardon, I think Ayodele did mean “not how far but how well” as “not how well but how far”, much like you meant to say “The ends justify the means”.

My personal belief on that, Mardon, is that, so long as the defense becomes the terribly ugly style of catenaccio from the 60s and 80s, and it’s also within the rules, the ends do justify the means. If it’s defense, so be it. If it’s luck, ha, well, SO BE IT. I’m sure you wouldn’t really be complaining if it was your beloved club (and I’m saying this to you, too, Haokip) that did defensive football too.

im just want to say that Chelsea win the thropy with their own style under interim manager Di Matteo. Every team are dreaming of winning of CL as much as they can just like Real Madrid or Barca/Bayern/Liverpool.. If you can win the Throphy with the way Clesea did, why should we complaining bout that. Football need strategy to win the game.. if your oppenent play attacking style and they are very strong team.. i dont think you will put just 2 defenders to defend and yes, im agree with the luck.. if you see Chelsea Vs Barca match, great footbal play was lost with defensive strategy because they never play with a defensive team like Chelsea did. we cannot blame Chelsea because of the way they played football. it’s all about to win the game. Next time Barca need a strategy to fight and win a game with a defensive team. not just passing and passing all the time until the end of 90th minutes.. if you watch English primier leauge’s last game against Manchester City and QPR.. QPR play defensive but i really like the way Man City play compare with Barca Vs Chelsea..

Hey hey hey… I’m a chelsea fan OK. So I’m enjoying this moment and surely wouldn’t want to be an Arsenal fan right now OK? All this talk of ‘ugly’, ‘negative’ is just enough. I know you want to see beautiful football, but you need to remember that Chelsea was missing 4 important players on the night. Chelsea did not have 2 swift wingers that can terrorize any defence in the world (remember what they did to Madrid). So tell me, what did you expect Di Matteo to do? Play ‘romantic’, ‘attractive’ football with Bayern and loose? So tell me, if that was that happened, would all of you be pouring accolades on Chelsea and Di Matteo right now? Praising them for the ‘beautiful’ football they played, despite losing the game 3-1 or 4-1?

Common, it’s Bayern, Barca, Benfica and Napoli that should be blamed for not having an answer to Chelsea’s defensive style. I agree that offensive, romantic football is great to watch, and it’s really nice to be able to place in the midfield and your opponent’s half, that doesn’t mean you should rely solely on that. A good team should be able to defend well, play well in the midfield and also attack well. A good manager must also be able to adjust the Team’s strategy such that no matter the type of opposition you face, you can still WIN.. WIN… WIN, which is the most important thing at the the end of the game.

Most of you here are talking as if Chelsea can’t pass the ball at all. Of course, we’ve proven it over and over again that we can pass the ball – but I agree that that is not our strongest area. So when we come against the Kings of Ball-passing (Barcelona), you expect me to pass the ball and lose the game? Common. What Chelsea did in the last 3 months was to take each game differently, using the best strategy that suited each ocassion. Whether you want to agree or not, it’s got them the Champions League!

Remember, Chelsea is not AC Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man United or Liverpool that have won almost everything there is to win already. They have established themselves as big wigs in club football. So, they can afford to lose matches anyhow. Look at Liverpool, finished 8th in the League with only the Carling Cup to show for it, yet everybody still sees them as European giants. If Chelsea were in the same situation, I know what you would say.

So, please, stop all the complaining and welcome Chelsea to the circle of European Big Boys.

Blue is the color, football is the Game

Brad, you are telling me that spain won the wc and euro by playing defensive football!!!!!…..really?…. Don’t just look up the statistics and judge the way a team played without watching the actual game. You also mentioned that spain were also helped by a bit of luck, you may be right,..but spain make their own luck by playing good,attractive and positive football whereas chelsea were just really2 lucky and nothing more……and i said ‘lucky’ all the time because even their owner abramovich himself said,”we were very lucky to win the ucl this season”…
I don’t have to complain if the club i suppport were to win the ucl and not even the opposing players and fans will because barcelona will never play like chelsea.
And andy, how can you compare qpr players with that of chelsea?????

Tula,

It is my understanding what you are trying to get across is that it was Di Mattoo’s thought-out tactic that saved the day for Chelsea. Now you yourself don’t believe that, do you? If not, tell me if this guy had also foreseen two decisive penalties that would be missed by two leading players in the world, and that quite a few shots would hit the posts to Chelsea’s favor and that key player of Benfica woudl be sent off upon the increasing pace of pressure from Benfica and most importantly that Chelsea would get lucky again in the penalty shootout.

Why is it so hard to admit that it is a combination of factors including sheer luck that paved the path for Chelsea? Now let me ask the very “what if” question you posed? Would you be pouring praize on Di Matteo for his defensive play against Benfica had they been kicked out having spent the entire second half of the second leg in their penalty box at Stamford Bridge?

Why would you think that Chelsea’s ” out of blue success” give you the previlige of undermining decent clubs such as Arsenal or Liverpool, which incidentally have had a decent season in EPL? I am not even a fan of these clubs but your snobbish attitude toward them is simply uncalled-for.

DISCLAIMER – Chelsea Fan

Any team that wins a competition like the Champions League has to have luck. ManU rode their luck against Chelsea in Moscow (Lampard did hit the post in ET and the slip). Even magnificent Barca had moments last year where some luck pulled them through. That is why we play the game. Great teams put themselves in position to be on the receiving end of lady luck’s gifts. Chelsea did that by keeping the game close and taking their chances when they had them – something Barca and Bayern did not.

Against any team your setup, structure and tactics are based on your teams strengths (Chelsea defense) and your opposition weaknesses (Barca has no plan B or height to score). To do otherwise simply because of a desire to play “pretty” is simply bad coaching and such a manager would quickly be out of a job at the top clubs. Chelsea had a difficult hand dealt to them (especially in final with suspensions) where they were clearly out manned in the midfield going forward and they adjusted their tactics to minimize the impact of that weakness. Good coaching. Was it pretty, not at all. but you have to put your team in a position to win and to get lucky.

In my opinion, Bayern lost the game when they took Muller off and changed their shape. They were overloading the midfield denying Chelsea any possession. They put on another defensive player and pulled a body out of the middle of the field where they were dominating. The game flow turned even after that point and Chelsea got a chance…

Also, the reason Drogba will always be in the list of the best, is because a chance is all he needs and he punishes teams that let down their mental focus for just a moment. He would be absolutely terrifying to play against.

It is very, very unlikely that Chelsea could repeat the feat they just did (just as Greece will never win another Euro) and this campaign showed how much Chelsea does need to improve their squad – especially in the midfield. They still try to play like they have Essien in his prime running the middle but that day is long gone unfortunately. Karma, however, has a way of balancing out things over time (even ManU got a taste of it this year although they are still due a lot more misfortune to balance their books 🙂 ). Bayern seems to be due some luck…

Regarding the penalty misses, Robben has been having issues lately and would not have been my pick. His take clearly lacked confidence and Cech looked confident. Messi, wow. if you watch the replay, he was going right all the way and changed what he was going to do when he saw Cech go that way also. He flattened and lowered his foot to try and go over him. A last instant adjustment that Messi makes flawlessly 95% of the time. Luck smiled again, but if a Gk studies film and recognizes patterns in players approaches and is able to guess the right way and forces the best player in the world to make a difficult last instant adjustment sending the ball a little higher than expected, luck becomes more likely….

barca used the attacking method chelsea beat them both home nd away sme goes to to bayern. remembr nepoli were leadin 3-1 when di matteo took over just to make a comebck . so u wana say that it was luck up to the finals , i mean they win the FA cup i gues thats luck nd all the matches to the finals what kind of luck doesnt run out? chelsea did it they did what bayern madrid nd barca couldnt do….

Haokip. I watched the games, you know. 8 goals in 7 matches, I’d say, isn’t exactly offensive football. Sure, they played with their signature flair, but they didn’t score very often. The good news on that, they conceded even less often than that. I’m not sure if it was that Torres wasn’t playing his best at the time or not (he is one of Spain’s top players), but, while the magnificent possession game was unchanged, it seemed to lack the punch they needed to blow everyone away as usual.

They won by cheating. In football it is deemed as cheating when a players feigns injury in order to gain an advantage. Drogba did this numerous times against Barcelona and therefore should have been sent off . These are facts. My opinion is hat Chelsea are a disgusting team to watch full of cheating and negativity and any true football fan will know who are the best teams irrelevant of who wins what.

It’s true that teams cheat, and that Chelsea played ugly football, but it’s time to stop this “coulda, woulda, shoulda” nonsense, and actually recognize that teams don’t rely solely on cheats, or luck. Chelsea won on D, which does need a lot of luck anyways.

“Offense wins tickets, defence wins championships”

Did you watch Spain at all at Euro 2012? Time and time again there was a constant defence from opposing teams? And what did spain do? THEY ATTACKED. IMO Chelsea did win through luck and Barca’s arrogance. Not because of defense