by Idris O. Aliu
When two teams do not want to play but just sit back to defend with the intent of winning with counterattacking soccer, they would most likely just end up canceling each other out completely in a stalemate, just as the 0-0 draw between Athletico Madrid and Chelsea. Captain Gabi of Athletico Madrid even joked to reporters before the first leg of the recent UEFA Champions League meeting between his team and Chelsea that “if Chelsea give us the ball, we’ll instantly give it back to them.” Meaning they would also be glad to sit back and defend, just to let the other team play with the intent on defending heavily and winning with counterattacking. Unfortunately for them Chelsea also came with the same uninspiring master plan, with both teams ending up canceling each other out completely in a lacklustre 0-0 encounter!
So sad for football that this ugly trend reinvented by the "Special One" José Mourinho is now gradually becoming the norm, with even the likes of Real Madrid using it to beat Bayern Munich despite having "enjoyed" only 28% of possession; Chelsea using it to beat Liverpool despite having "enjoyed" only 26.96% of possession; and even unfancied West Ham using it to pick a draw at Mourinho's backyard despite having enjoyed less than 30% of possession.
No doubt Mourinho’s Chelsea tactics at Liverpool has reechoed West Ham’s “19th Century Football”. The world is only just waiting to remind Mourinho of his statement after the West Ham game where he said, "This is not the best league in the world, this is football from the 19th century.” Unforgiving words in defeat from Jose Mourinho earlier in the season, that could come back to haunt the Chelsea manager given the manner of the Blues’ latest win against Liverpool!
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