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| Johan Cruyff |
Let's be realistic folks, the idea of bringing in a big name at the end of the season seems more and more unlikely. So let's examine the facts. Abramovich wishes are Pep Guardiola, Guus Hiddink or even a possible return of Jose Mourinho. Pep Guardiola has received a blank check to basically name his price. Tempting offer indeed, but so far Guardiola has not been swayed away from Nou Camp. Guus Hiddink has an excellent relationship with Abramovich. The Russian billionaire hired him to manage Chelsea in 2010 as well as recommending him to coach the Russian national team in the 2010 World Cup. Hiddink has proven that he can win anymore under any kind of circumstances, but has made it clear that he has no intention on managing any Club on full time basis. That's why he prefers the national team stage because of the less rigorous commitments. Jose Mourinho has made it clear that he will make a return to the EPL it's just a matter of time when and where. At the moment Manchester City may be looking for a new manager at season's end. All the indication are pointing in Mourinho direction to possibly ending up as the new manager of that Club. The question is would Manchester United let their rivals pry Mourinho away from them after publicly lobbying for him?
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Guardiola contemplating
the "name you price" offer
from Abramovich |
Many will argue that Chelsea doesn't need to look for a new manager. The caretaker who goes by the name of Roberto Di Matteo is doing just fine. Since taking over he has managed 8 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss including a semi-final appearance at the Champions League. Who could possibly argue against that? However, having closely analyzed the managing style of Di Matteo, I see a weakness of utilizing his subs more effectively. Part of it could be the fact that he has nobody that can provide an instant impact off the bench. The popular bench players have been Malouda, Essien and Kalou. All three are having a dismal season. To the credit of Di Matteo he has sort of revived players like Torres and Kalou by giving them a bit more playing time to re-gain their form. He has also managed to keep players fresh by shuffling the starting line ups. Mourinho was very good at that and I think that kind of experience is needed to manage at EPL level considering how many games are played throughout the season. Andre Villas-Boas lack of awareness and his persistence to look to the future to soon led to his downfall. The other question is will Di Matteo attract big name players to Stamford Bridge? There's no doubt that Chelsea has needs at certain aging positions. What kind of impact will him being manager have on the transfer market?
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Roberto Di Matteo has performed
astoundingly as a caretaker Manager
of Chelsea FC. |
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Cruyff's brand of soccer would
be most welcome at Stamford Bridge |
This brings me to my point about bringing on Johan Cruyff as the next manager of Chelsea. Who better than the architect of "Total Football" to come to Chelsea? The brand of soccer that everyone is enjoying to see at Barcelona was brought forward by none other than the legendary former player and manager of FC Barcelona. It's a winning formula that is highly entertaining and very potent offensively. The reason why Barcelona is so successful is because they are able to teach this system through the youth academy. Many of their players, including Lionel Messi, came through the academy. Total Football has been tweaked by different coaches over the years, but the concept is still the same. The major knock on Cruyff as well as many legendary former players is that they are often too difficult to work with. Their ideas often begins and ends with them. It would be difficult for Abramovich who carries similar personality traits to work with a manager with the same characteristics. But if Abramovich is looking for immediate results, Johan Cruyff would certainly fit that role and three years would only be what he needs to make an impact and develop a young protege to replace him like a Di Matteo or even skipper John Terry when he retires.
