Chelsea announced on Wednesday evening that they had completed the loan signing of Portuguese international midfielder Maniche from Dynamo Moscow.
The announcement confirmed what we more or less already knew. José had already indicated that the absence of Michael Essien, for a number of weeks, at the African Cup of Nations, meant that he could well be looking to bring in a temporary replacement, especially since, over the summer, Chelsea had offloaded several other central midfielders (Tiago, Jiri Jarosik, Alexei Smertin, Scott Parker). Maniche’s name had already been frequently mentioned.
Essien?s injury on Monday, courtesy of West Ham?s Nigel Reo-Croker, must have accelerated the negotiations, as Essien is not likely to be able to go to Egypt for the African Cup of Nations as he will be recovering.
Maniche (whose full name is Nuno Ricardo Oliveira Ribeiro, which explains why he?s chosen a somewhat shorter moniker) joins on a loan until the end of the season. According to the rumours circulating before the signing, the loan contains an option for a full purchase, for £5 million at the end of the season.
Maniche joined Dynamo Moscow, traditionally the team of the Communist Party, only last summer, for a Russian record ?16 million, alongside fellow Portuguese (and Porto) team-mate Costinha. Neither adapted well to Russian football, and Maniche had indicated that he wanted to leave. A number of teams were keen to take Maniche, including atlético Madrid. However, Maniche said, on a number of occasions, that the opportunity to work with José Mourinho was what helped him decide to accept Chelsea?s offer. He also said that all that was missing was his medical, which clearly took place rather quickly and secretly.
Indeed, much has been made of Maniche?s and José?s shared past. He becomes the first player to have worked with José at 3 different clubs: he grew up at Benfica, where José took over as coach in 2000. In 2002, having joined Porto, José took Maniche from Benfica. At Porto, José and Maniche claimed 2 Portuguese Championships, the UEFA cup and the Portuguese Cup in 2003, followed by the Champions League in 2004.
Maniche is a scoring central midfielder, useful for winning and redistributing the ball. He has a respectable scoring record in European competitions, and the 2004 Portuguese championship was helped by 6 Maniche goals. He is a regular in the Portuguese team also since 2003, as England (who went out to Portugal in 2004) will attest.
Maniche has not played in European competitions this season, so he will be eligible for Chelsea?s Champions League campaign. We already anticipate him replacing a suspended Michael Essien for the games against Barcelona.
Maniche, welcome to Chelsea.