Those who have been watching footie long enough know how this game we love can be so cruel and also rewarding ..how it can give so much joy and also so much heart ache. As a fan of Chelsea FC since the early 90s one could rightly say I am one of the spoilt ones..i have had so much to celebrate and comparatively so little to mourn about. It is true that like Oliver Twist who always asked for more I am one of those who has despite all the good fortune we have seen as a club have dared to ask for and dream for even more but today I reached a place i seldom do as a footie fan..football nirvana.
Each of us can name those few moments when the proceedings of a footie match made you reach a level of pleasure that can simply not be surpassed by anything else in the realms of sport. I reached it when I saw the greatest national team in history beat Italy in the 1970 world cup at the majestic Azteca and get to keep the Jules Rimet cup for good. I reached it when the Dutch finally won something of substance for all their long history of flair and Jogo bonito during the euros when Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard finally broke through for L` Orange..I felt it for the Albi celeste when the other worldly genius of Diego Amendo Maradona made the 1986 world cup his own. Even when he sneakily ousted my Moms Home Country England with the now infamous Hand of God, just because I felt that his kind of genius simply deserved to reach the Zenith of achievement which he did against the mighty Germans again in that my familiar theater of dreams?the Azteca.
For Chelsea I felt it when the “little club” I had pledged my allegiances to just a few years earlier climbed to the zenith of club football and beat Mighty Real Madrid in the European Club Champions cup match, I felt it when not too long after we got a brash new Manager called Jose mourinhio, after our fortunes brought us along the path of a man called Roman Abramovic who became the new club owner ( rescuing us from looming financial doom) and how in absolutely dominant fashion we took the Premier league title in a fashion that made many open their mouths aghast. Suddenly the “little club” I had come to love when they had brought in Rudd Gullit, Zola and Vialli had now morphed from being one of the upper half tier teams to a behemoth of the prestigious English premier league. I felt it again as we retained the title the next year in essentially similar dominant fashion as I selfishly began to entertain wet dreams of a dynasty of domination similar to those that Liverpool and ManU had had from eras past.
But pride as the good book says goes before destruction and after these highs when football nirvana had become virtually the norm for me the years of drought and painful disappointment came. I didn`t feel that euphoria of football nirvana again till when a well cultured Italian gentleman took us on a swashbuckling run that brought us back to the zenith of what was now called the BPL and along the way had us hitting a league record of total goals scored. I had to wait after that for quite some time till 2012 when lady luck took a fancy on us and anointed one of our former legends Roberto Di Matteo as our next patron saint. In one of the most improbable scripts in our annals this pleasant gentleman who only got the job because no one else Roman wanted would accept such a poisoned chalice with a team presumed to be on its last legs did the nigh impossible winning a glorious double including the elusive “Rabbit ears” trophy.
This Sunday in just one match I revisited football nirvana again. Some may say it was just one match but this is not quite true. This was a huge statement match. We matched up against one of the two richest clubs in our league. We lined up against the club that spent the most this last transfer window by far..we matched up against that same Jose Mourinhio who would have all and sundry believe that the debacle that forced Roman to sack him a season ago had absolutely nothing to do with him; that he bore no blame. To see us win against this kind of opposition and to win so dominantly and so emphatically took me to football nirvana again but had even greater significance than just my delirious pleasure or that of the entire blue nation.
At the start of this season I indicated that I felt we were in real danger of not being able to finish in the top 4 because I felt that 3 of those 4 positions were essentially already taken leaving us to battle for the final position with 2-4 other teams and I didn`t fancy our chances as being very rosy. I had in those three guaranteed spots; ManU, City and the Gunners. Guys I am happy to say that I was wrong..with the season closing in on half way it really does appear that in fact there are only two locked up spots for those top 4; City and the gunners.
ManU are in trouble and Jose is one of the big reasons why. Despite the expense spent assembling his squad it was easily apparent today that this is a side of superstar individuals and not a coherent team. Jose was roundly outcoached today by Conte and the difference in commitment and desire between the two team of players was shocking to behold. Yes our players clearly had a chip on their shoulders and had a point to prove but the mediocrity Manu served up was a huge indictment on Jose.
As I look closely at ManU I now realize they are in greater danger of not finishing in the top 4 than we are. That they have the sapping effect of the Europa league that we don`t dosent help their cause and the temperament issues of Jose are already becoming obvious with the season not even half way through. Conte lost big games against the gunners and Liverpool. See how he handled himself with class and dignity..contrast that with the classless self centered comments Jose made to Conte because the man had the temerity to ask his home fans to cheer on his team ( the home team) that had put on an A plus performance against what was supposed to be a top 4 BPL team. Those who have known and observed jose as long as I have will acknowledge that the warning signs are already there for ManU. He is two to three more critical loses away from a total melt down and with matches against City in the EFL cup and the Gunners a little later in November don`t be surprised if things get really ugly for Jose and Manu real quick. We all know how Jose hates to have his methods and authority questioned abut unlike Chelsea FC ManU is full of footie royaty who have won big for ManU prior to Jose’s coming..many of these guys wanted Ryan giggs not him…as the loses pile up get ready to see combustible situation erupt into a full fledged inferno before long. If Jose felt there were political machinations aligned against him at Chelsea FC he has not seen anything yet. Honestly if that happens I will shed no tears for Jose. All it will mean is that it improves our chances of comfortably securing a top 4 finish which for me is the number one goal and priority for this Conte`s first season after picking up the bits and tatters that Jose left him. Any thing else including one or two cup trophies he can garner will be extra icing on the main cake.
Yes it is only one game but it is games like this that give a team and manager self confidence that had hitherto eluded them and I suspect when the history of this season is finally written for Chelsea FC, whatever glory we can attain this season, any trophies we may be able to win (be it the EFL and/or the FA cup..i wont be so greedy to even bring myself to contemplate us winning the BPL..were we to do that I will immediately start a petition to have a stature of Conte erected at Stamford Bridge), we will all look back and recollect that the momentum really took of when we took the highly expensive “superstar ManU” team and their “super manager” to the cleaners at Stamford bridge with a team of bargain buys like Victor Moses, Pedro, Marcos Alonso and Cesar. It is a fitting testament to how much difference a manager can make that with just Alonso, Kante and Moses as the new additions to the starting eleven , Conte took essentially the same squad that Jose was leading to what looked like relegation disaster before Roman had to pull the plug and has turned the team around to a cohesive unit that now actually looks like each piece knows their place and part and role and the players are finally again looking like they are having fun while doing their jobs very well.
For all in the blue nation it a great day to be a Chelsea fan and long may it continue. I raise my glass of non alcoholic beverage to all you my fan mates ..to even better days for the Chelsea..to more days of football Nirvana for us. Forza Conte!!! KTBFFH!!!
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