‘Special’ won’t cut it for Villas-Boas at Chelsea

New Blues boss must outdo achievements of former mentor Mourinho and win Champions League to be a success at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea's appointment of 33-year-old former scout Andre Villas-Boas has surprised many

 

For someone who claims to be trying to avoid comparisons to Jose Mourinho, Andre Villas Boas has gone a funny way about it.

One of the Special One’s most trusted assistants over the course of eight years spent at Porto, Chelsea, and then Inter Milan, Villas-Boas ultimately decided to leave his mentor’s side and carve out his own legacy in management.

Yet after an impressively overachieving but brief stint at unfashionable Academica, where did this single-minded and ambitious young coach choose to go to make his mark? Porto, a club still struggling to emerge from the shadow cast by Mourinho’s monumental domestic and European achievements there six years earlier.

Still, make his mark Villas-Boas certainly did. Under the 33-year-old’s astute guidance, Porto won four of the five tournaments they entered, romping to victory in the league by 21 points without losing a single match as well as triumphing in the Portuguese Cup and Europa League.

Along the way, Portugal’s latest coaching whizz-kid broke many of Mourinho’s old records and established himself as a top managerial prospect in his own right. The footballing world was at his feet, with Inter Milan and Chelsea both weighing up the possibility of a summer move to procure his services.

Neither option would have done much to discourage the perception of the 33-year-old as ‘the Special One: Mark II’. 

 

But Villas-Boas is a smart man as well as a talented young coach. While he may continually stress the differences between him and his former boss in press conferences, he has recognised that comparisons with arguably the greatest coach of the past decade could only boost his career prospects, and has used this image to his advantage.

Reportedly the Italian giants were unwilling to stump up the outrageous sum of £13.3million required to release Villas-Boas from his contract, leaving Chelsea the only viable suitor. But even had it been a straight choice between the two, it is likely the Porto boss would have favoured a move to west London anyway.

Why? Partly because the Premier League currently has the edge on Serie A in terms of quality of competition and prestige. Partly also because Villas-Boas underwent much of his coaching development in the UK, first on Uefa coaching courses and then in the corridors of Cobham.

But mainly because although either option would have placed the burden of expectation on Villas-Boas to match Mourinho at the scene of one of the most spectacularly successful chapters in the Special One’s illustrious career, only Chelsea could offer the opportunity for the student to surpass the master.

For despite delivering a trophy haul unprecedented in the club’s history, Mourinho left Chelsea in 2007 feeling relatively unfulfilled by his own impossibly high standards.

The Champions League was the only major trophy to elude Mourinho at Stamford Bridge

Sure, he had ended the Blues’ 50-year wait for a league title and then repeated the trick a year later, but he had not – as he had done at Porto and would go on to do at Inter – brought the Champions League trophy back to Stamford Bridge.

The notable absence of the greatest prize in club football from Chelsea’s modern success story is still referred to with a degree of regret and frustration by Mourinho to this day, just as it is still the source of the unrelenting obsession which drives Roman Abramovich’s astoundingly lavish spending.

For Villas-Boas then, the Champions League represents the greatest opportunity of emerging from the shadow of his former boss. It also happens to be his only chance of long-term survival.

Carlo Ancelotti’s swift demise barely twelve months after he had led the club to its first ever Double illustrates that domestic dominance is now expected rather than cherished at Stamford Bridge. A league title can buy a Chelsea coach another season, at best, but only European glory can make him a permanent fixture.

Just matching Mourinho’s achievements, then, will not be enough.

Abramovich may be addicted to the thrill which success in football brings, but Premier League and FA Cup triumphs no longer provide a sufficient high. Villas-Boas will have to deliver him the ultimate prize, or recent history suggests he will become just the latest in an illustrious list of managerial casualties.

 

The 33-year-old’s task will only be made harder by the fact he inherits a considerably weaker squad to the one Mourinho assumed control of in 2004. 

 

The spine of that title-winning team remains the same in name only, lacking both in youthful hunger and vigour. There is also a distinct absence of cover in many areas – the result of an apparent cost cutting drive last summer, later rendered futile by January’s £75million spending spree.

As well as refreshing the first team ranks, Villas-Boas would also do well to rein in the player power at Stamford Bridge. The likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have grown in influence as well as experience over the past few years, and the sway which Chelsea’s captain appears to have with Abramovich is a particular cause for concern.

 

The close relationship between Terry & Abramovich would worry any incoming Chelsea coach

 

But for all the potential pitfalls inherent within it, this is not an impossible job. It is merely a very difficult one. Moreover, it is one for which, despite his relative lack of experience, Villas-Boas may be uniquely well-equipped to flourish in.

Of each of the six previous managers Chelsea have hired and/or fired since 2004, Mourinho lasted the longest in the job – a relative lifetime of three years. 

 

Villas-Boas witnessed first-hand how the Special One managed to maintain a working dialogue with his impulsive and ruthless chairman for all this time, and he was also present as the relationship gradually broke down. This means he is arguably better placed than anyone not only to replicate Mourinho’s successes in this regard, but also to learn from his former boss’s misjudgments.

The other great advantage Villas-Boas has is an established rapport with the Chelsea players, many of whom benefited from the exhaustive scouting reports he diligently compiled during Mourinho’s reign and still retain a genuine respect for him as a result. 

 

Of course, it still remains for the 33-year-old to ensure this relationship now assumes a player-manager dynamic, but the emphatic nature of his success at Porto suggests this won’t be a problem.

It is clearly a massive risk for Villas-Boas to plunge himself into football's ‘lion’s den’ with only 18 months’ worth of managerial experience to his name, but equally massive are the potential rewards. 

 

He has the opportunity to finally emerge from the sizable shadow of Mourinho by completing his former mentor’s ‘unfinished business’ in the Champions League and begin writing his own history in the process.

One thing is clear, however: Anything less than making Chelsea ‘kings of Europe’ will be regarded as a failure, because being ‘Special’ just doesn’t cut it at Stamford Bridge anymore.

A tale of magic and madness at the Bernabeu

Physical confrontation was a recurring theme of Wednesday night's Clasico

Wednesday night’s Champions League semi-final clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona was certainly, and somewhat inevitably, not one for the purist – scrappy, aggressive, more drama than entertainment, more petulant chess match than a contest for the ages.

It was also an occasion which served to further highlight both the fantasy and folly which characterizes elite football in the modern era, and the ability of the world’s greatest footballers to excite and exasperate in equal measure.

But all who witnessed this unique spectacle will feel equally privileged to have yet another astonishing example of Lionel Messi’s irrepressible genius to savour.
 

Messi's two late goals look to have won the tie for Barcelona

To expect, or even hope for, a feast of football at the Bernabeu would have been optimistic to the point of naïve; last November’s 5-0 mauling at the Nou Camp had ensured this particular el Clasico was never going to be an open contest.

Any Madridistas who believed Mourinho would be willing take the game to Barcelona were served ample notice of the Special One’s real intentions in the last two meetings of the sides, in which he laid out the tactical masterplan he hoped would wreck the Catalans’ Champions League hopes.

On Wednesday Mourinho and his players, flushed with success in the Copa del Rey final, sought to harass and to stifle Pep Guardiola’s men once again, to deny space to the likes of Messi and Xavi and to intimidate their rivals with greater aggression and physicality.

And this tried and trusted strategy worked for well over an hour, ensuring a semi-final which pitted many of the world’s greatest footballers against each other never threatened to live up to its Hollywood billing.

Rather than breathtaking skill and flowing football, the recurring theme was instead one of cynicism and petulance, as both sides sought to trick and to pressure the referee into making a decisive call and, in doing so, to tip a delicately-balanced tie in their favour.

In such an environment, controversy was inevitable – and it duly arrived when Pepe was dismissed for what Wolfgang Stark deemed a high and reckless challenge on Dani Alves, who played the part of sniper victim admirably.

The decision proved vital. With Madrid’s Portuguese defender-come-midfield destroyer out of the picture, the brilliance of Lionel Messi was finally given the room to flourish, and it was the little Argentine magician who won the game for Barca with his 51st and 52nd goals of an astounding season.

The first was a reward for a committed and cleverly timed run to the near post when he met substitute Ibrahim Afellay’s pinpoint centre; the second showcased everything that makes a rampaging Messi the most thrilling sight in the world of football: phenomenal acceleration, devastating precision of touch and a cool finish.

This match-winning contribution by the world’s best player had threatened to mask the bitter taste left in the mouth by all that had gone before. But Jose Mourinho ensured this would not remain so, with a post-match rant which was a masterclass in generalization, overstatement and selective memory.

Mourinho's post-match comments are likely to be punished by UEFA

The Special One’s ridiculous allegations of a grand UEFA-endorsed conspiracy to ensure Barcelona remain at the pinnacle of the sport did not even represent the biggest crimes of his ill-advised monologue.  An examination of what he omitted provides far more grounds for criticism.

For in all of Mourinho’s railing against referees, he failed to condemn the persistant monkey chants Dani Alves was subjected to by Madrid fans following the Pepe incident, and for which one can only hope the club will be punished.

He failed to admit that his side’s physical approach and willingness to crowd the referee at every opportunity had left them open to the sort of red card eventually shown to Pepe, or that Marcelo and Sergio Ramos could easily have earned early baths for offences against Messi and Pedro.

And he failed to credit Barcelona’s number 10 for scoring what will surely go down as one of the great goals of the Champions League era.

Mourinho has regularly sought to question the decisions of officials after defeats in big games, often with the primary function of deflecting the attention away from his side’s poor performance, but raising doubts over the validity of this Barcelona team’s success just smacks of sour grapes.

The real reason why the Special One has had a man sent off in each of his last five meetings with Barca lies in the way in which his teams look to play.

If you cede possession to your opponents and seek to pressure them aggressively without the ball, you run a very real risk of attracting unwanted attention from the referee –  and even more so when the team you are playing is particularly adept at making every mistimed challenge look like attempted murder.

Madrid’s approach to the last three Clasico meetings has made a dismissal almost inevitable. Mourinho knew this, but he was taking a calculated risk.

Pepe's red card, rightly or wrongly, proved the turning point in the match

Real managed to win the Copa del Rey because they lasted 120 minutes before going down to 10 men. Had they lasted longer than 70 minutes on Wednesday, there is a strong possibility they would have held out for a 0-0 and gone to the Nou Camp knowing one away goal would put them in a very strong position.

But they didn’t. Madrid’s players were unable to walk the disciplinary tight-rope, and so now go into the second leg all but out of the tie. Despite Mourinho’s post match defeatism, Real will not give up in Catalonia, even though they are in an almost impossible situation.

Madrid must somehow beat Barca by two clear goals at the Nou Camp, without leaving the world's most deadly attacking force any room to hurt them in return. If Mourinho were to pull this off now, it would undoubtedly represent the most astonishing moment in a glittering managerial career.

The smart money is on Barcelona lining up against Manchester United, who have made even lighter work of Schalke in the other semi-final, at Wembley in May. 

Will United gain revenge for their 2009 humiliation in Rome? Or will this exceptional Barcelona side stamp their greatness even more indelibly on the annals of history? 

Whatever happens, just be grateful this wasn't the final.

A humble Madrid spells danger for Barca

Real Madrid have set their egos to one side and embraced "anti-football" in a bid to end Barcelona's domestic and European dominance. The Catalans now face a serious threat to their Champions League hopes

Wednesday's Copa del Rey victory gave Real their first trophy in three years

When Barcelona destroyed Real Madrid 5-0 at the Nou Camp last November, many observers - this writer included - struggled to find the words to do justice to the level of performance we had just witnessed, and to the team which provided it.

It was, for want of a better term, simply brilliant. The best team in the world had not only beaten the side widely accepted as being their closest rivals, they had annihilated them. Schooled them. Humiliated them. Yes, ‘brilliant’ will do.

But brilliance is dependent on circumstance. In football, brilliance is defined not only by the individual or team which produces it, but also by the deficiencies of the other individual or team which make that brilliance possible.

For every act of brilliance on the football pitch, there is a mistake, either technical or tactical, individual or collective, which enables it to happen. And after last November’s thrashing, no one knows this better than Jose Mourinho.

Of course, this Barcelona team are exceptional, and their five-goal Clasico demolition of Real deserves its place among the all-time greatest club performances.

But its greatness can be attributed to the fact that the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta were allowed the time and space to exhibit their genius by a combination of Mourinho’s fatally misguided tactical plan and the naïve mistakes of a youthful Real side.

Give Barcelona the room to play and they will destroy you. The lesson was clear, delivered in the most emphatic way possible. The Special One would not need to be told twice.

Which is why last Saturday’s La Liga encounter at the Bernebeu marked a seismic shift in Real’s tactical approach to playing their great rivals.

Rather than trying to impose their own style and dominate Barca, the emphasis for Madrid was very much on stifling Pep Guardiola’s side with a mixture of high intensity pressure and a deep defensive line, only looking for opportunities on the counterattack.

It was what some would call “anti-football” – fundamentally destructive rather than constructive, and far more in line with the approach Mourinho’s Inter endorsed against the Catalans last year.

It was also an approach which drew criticism from many quarters, most notably from Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff and, perhaps more surprisingly, Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano.

"We saw clearly that [Madrid’s] approach was not the right one. Barcelona were a lion, Madrid a mouse," the 84-year-old wrote in his column in Marca.

"Madrid were a team without personality. Barcelona play football and dance while Madrid just run back and forth constantly, tiring themselves out."

But there was something Di Stefano chose not to highlight, and it was perhaps was the most significant aspect of Saturday’s turgid 1-1 draw: It was the fact that, after five consecutive Clasico defeats, Real had not lost. They had been dominated, certainly, but not beaten.

Mourinho was also criticized for letting the title race die by settling for the draw but, with Barca already eight points clear and carrying the head-to-head advantage afforded them by that 5-0 win before Christmas, the Special One must have considered the title race over.

He had other priorities. To rebuild his players’ fragile confidence that they could at least compete with Barca, to give them the beginnings of a belief going forward into this unique four-game series against the Catalans that they could actually best their great rivals.

And it worked. Only four days after ending their losing streak, Madrid beat Barcelona by a solitary extra time goal in Valencia to triumph in the Copa del Rey final for the first time in 18 years. But even more significantly, they beat Barca the Mourinho way.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe both played crucial roles in Madrid's victory

  

Unlike their first meeting in November, Real did not walk out onto the pitch for the Copa del Rey final seized by the arrogant delusion that they could match Barcelona blow for blow. Instead, they accepted they would lose the battle for possession, and so concentrated on defending tightly and deep in a bid to limit their opponents as much as possible.

The defensive midfield trio of Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira and the excellent Pepe ensured there was almost no space for Barca to play tiki-taka football between the midfield and defensive lines, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria pressured high up the pitch in a bid to prevent the Catalans getting into their rhythm.

Mourinho's gameplan was not perfect, and Madrid still rode their luck at times. Iker Casillas rescued his team-mates with fantastic saves on a handful of occasions, and only Pedro's marginally ill-timed run ensured a moment of mesmerising genius from Lionel Messi did not get the reward it surely merited.

But for the most part Real managed to frustrate Pep Guardiola's men, and actually produced a number of clear opportunities of their own through lightning quick counterattacks. Cristiano Ronaldo finally found himself in a position to have a decisive influence over a Clasico, and took his chance brilliantly with that towering injury time header.

It wasn't pretty, but Madrid have finally found a way to beat Barca. All they have had to do is to set egos aside, accept their own footballing inferiority and discard high-held principles of entertainment to embrace "anti-football".

This may not sit right with purists in the Madrid hierarchy such as Di Stefano and Valdano, but Real fans are just grateful to Mourinho for stemming the tide of Catalan victories in the Clasico.

And of course, further glories could be ahead.

The Copa del Rey victory will give the Madrid players a huge psychological boost ahead of the two-legged Champions League semi-final to come, whilst Barca's realisation that the current Real is a much more streetwise and formidable beast than the one brushed aside so easily last November may just raise a little self-doubt.

The one final question which remains is whether Wednesday's extra-time exertions will have taken anything out of either side physically.

Barcelona have a frightningly small squad, an oversight which may yet cost them dear, but there is also a doubt as to whether Madrid can defend so perfectly for what will end up being over six hours of football in less than three weeks against the most fearsome attacking team in world football.

Only time will tell, but Real's victory has provided the best possible prologue to the Champions League semi-finals.

With a new, humble Madrid likely taking to the field next Wednesday, the spectacle is unlikely to match last November's magnificent exhibition. It will, however, be a genuine contest. 

End of year awards - 2010

First of all, let me just say, I don't like end of year awards.

I find the idea of judging teams and players on their performances in calendar years to be a clumsy and inadequate system for rewarding continued good form in football, for the simple reason that the football season does not begin in January and end in December.

Consequently, voting panels for these awards are invariably forced to judge players and teams on their performances in two halves of different seasons with an unhelpful summer-long gap in between. Or in the case of 2010, a World Cup.

The 'Greatest Show on Earth' rightly takes centre-stage every four years, but the rigid calendar year system for awards means that it takes on an unjustified level of importance in the minds of voting panelists. Hence we have Uruguay's inspirational talisman Diego Forlan on the 23-man Ballon d'Or shortlist ahead of Diego Milito, who fired Inter Milan to an historic treble.

And as much as Sunderland fans may wax lyrical about the virtues of Asamoah Gyan, even the most ardent Mackem would be hard pressed to convince me that Ghana's World Cup hero was one of the 23 best footballers in the world in 2010.

That said, the end of the calendar year is the time when we look back and evaluate in all walks of life, and it can come as no surprise that football is not excluded from this. Also, seeing as I have absolutely no power to change Fifa, there seems no sense in letting football's governing body have all the fun.

Here then, are my end of year awards. The World Cup has played a significant role in my choices, but I have been careful not to let it completely overshadow my judgment. I have looked to reward the individuals and teams who have shone on all fronts in 2010, as well as a couple who, well, didn't.

So here goes. Have a read and let me know what you think, regardless of whether you agree or not.

Player of the Year - Wesley Sneijder, Inter Milan and Holland

This decision may surprise many who favour the Ballon d'Or shortlist nominees Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, but there are several reasons why I believe the Dutch midfield maestro is the most deserving. 

First, while most observers (myself included) consider Barcelona's dream trio to be better footballers, they also have the benefit of playing with each other every week. The genius of each makes it easier for the other two to shine all the more brightly. 

Sneijder, by contrast, shouldered almost the entire creative burden of Jose Mourinho's defensive-minded Inter Milan side, crafting the devastating counter-attacks which contributed just as much to the Italian giants' success as defensive steel.

He then went to South Africa and almost repeated the trick with his country, leading another side built on solidity and work-rate to Holland's first World Cup final in over 30 years.

As well as creating opportunities for team-mates, Sneijder also rose to the challenge of taking them himself, finishing tied at the top of the tournament's scoring charts with five goals.

Messi, Xavi and Iniesta are great players who play in great teams. Sneijder's greatness this year stems from the fact that he inspired good teams on to great things. 2010 was his year.

Honorary mentions:

Cristiano Ronaldo - Blistering scoring form undermined by lack of trophies/World Cup exploits

Arjen Robben - Best season of his career, but finished on losing side in his two biggest matches of 2010

Bastian Schweinsteiger - Star for Germany and Bayern, but his less glamorous style works against him in awards like these 

Breakthrough of the Year - Pedro Rodriguez, Barcelona and Spain

   

2010 has seen the blossoming of numerous exciting new talents in the world of football, but there can be no breakthrough story quite so astonishing as that of Pedro Rodriguez Ledesma.

In July of 2009, Pedro was a 22-year-old still plying his trade in Barcelona's B team. By the age of 22, most prodigious young talents have already begun to make their mark on world football. Those who haven't broken through by then will most likely never do so, becoming consigned instead to a less distinguished career lower down the unforgiving football pyramid.

But far from being condemned to obscurity, Pedro took his first-team chances and has, in the last twelve months, achieved as much as many would be content with in an entire career.

With an indefatigable work-rate, impressive tactical versatility and keen eye for goal, this Tenerife-born youngster has established himself in what is widely regarded as the greatest football team in the world, with his tally of 24 goals including strikes in every single competition last term.

Such eye-catching form ensured a place on the plane to South Africa with World Cup favourites Spain, where Pedro quickly became Vicente Del Bosque's go-to man when a misfiring Fernando Torres failed to find his form, ahead of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas and Man City's £25million summer recruit David Silva.

By last July, only six weeks after his first international cap, Pedro could add a World Cup winners medal to his already-formidable collection, and the footballing world could herald the arrival of a genuine world-class talent.

Honorary mentions:

Thomas Müller - The German Pedro. Brilliant breakthrough season for Bayern, and shone in South Africa, scoring five goals

Mesut Özil - Great form for Werder Bremen & a fantastic World Cup with Germany put him on the radar, moving to Real Madrid has given him the opportunity to establish himself

Nani - Has moved out of the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. Just a little more consistency separates him from being truly world-class

Angel Di Maria - Great form for club & country secured a big money move to Real Madrid. Has impressed, but exploits not quite high-profile enough yet

Gareth Bale - Excellent form & consistency for Tottenham, but his resume doesn't compare with the other challengers - yet

Team of the Year - Spain

Now, it may seem I'm going back on my promise not to let the World Cup-inspired heart rule the head, but rest assured this was a very difficult decision. Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan deserve all of the credit they received for becoming the first Italian club ever to win the treble and reclaiming European Glory after more than forty years.

But it was Spain's first ever World Cup triumph and, in particular, the style with which they won, which caught the imagination of the footballing world.

2010 was the year of tiki-taka.

The achievement of this Spain side cannot possibly be overstated. They flew to South Africa shouldering the dreaded burden of the 'favourites' tag despite having no World Cup pedigree.

Confidence in their approach was tested in the very first group game, when they inexplicably lost to what was possibly Switzerland's only shot of the tournament. The hopes of key striker Fernando Torres were shattered by lack of form and fitness, with the Liverpool frontman failing to find the net in South Africa.

But Spain recovered, and passed their way to glory. It was an approach which no one, not even a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal or a dynamic young Germany, had an answer for. For any awe-struck spectator, the lesson on offer was plain to see: it doesn't matter how good your players are if they never have the ball.

Seeing that defensive organisation and counter-attacking endeavour were not enough, Holland resorted to rough-house tactics in the final. It almost worked, and Joris Mathijsen and Arjen Robben may be haunted for years by guilt-edged misses. 

But in spite of a game with a startling number of clear chances, there seemed to be a strange sense of destiny taking hold. When Andres Iniesta lashed home with penalties beckoning, the story was complete. It was not quite a tale of good triumphing over evil, but pure football was certainly the victor.

Honorary mentions:

Inter Milan - Historic treble-winning exploits made it a close run race. A truly great side, if not quite so pleasing on the eye

Barcelona - Likely the greatest football team of our generation, and provided the backbone of Spain's world-beaters. However, defeat to Inter in the Champions League means they are not the dominant story of the year

Bayern Munich - One final defeat away from a treble, Louis Van Gaal's side deserve their place in this list. But defeat to Inter and Germany's defeat to Spain means it was never going to be any higher.

Manager of the Year - Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan and Real Madrid

Despite recent setbacks at the Santiago Bernebeu, 2010 has a decent shout to be considered the greatest of Jose Mourinho's career. And with for a man who had already amassed one of the most impressive managerial CVs in world football, that is saying something.

In only his second season in Italian football, the Special One managed to forge a team equipped to take on all comers both domestically and in Europe.

In doing so, he gave the lie to the perceived superiority of England and Spain by defeating the best that La Liga and the Premier League had to offer, and brought European glory back to the blue half of Milan for the first time in more than forty years.

The zenith of Mourinho's glory undoubtedly came in the Nou Camp, where a 'beautiful' 1-0 defeat was nevertheless to see off a truly exceptional Barcelona side and ensure Inter's passage to the Champions League final.

It was a personal vindication for the brash Portuguese, who never felt appropriately valued in his own time at Barca. Now he had avenged himself on Catalans who contemptuously label him 'the translator'.

But not content to deny his former employers European glory at the Bernebeu, Mourinho then decided to take on the biggest challenge of his career: to revitalise Barca's arch-rivals Real Madrid and aim to usurp the greatest club side of their generation.

There have, somewhat predictably, been set-backs in Mourinho's latest quest - the 5-0 Clasico drubbing was the heaviest of the Special One's career - but with his side only two points behind Barca at the halfway stage, it would be a brave man who writes off Mourinho's chances of stunning Catalonia once more.

Honorary mentions:

Vicente Del Bosque - Becoming Spain's first World Cup-winning manager certainly puts him in the debate, but the sheer wealth of talent at his disposal, together with a couple of dodgy results since the summer, rule him out

Carlo Ancelotti - Winning a League and Cup double in your first season in England is nothing to be sniffed at, but he was out-witted by Mourinho in the Champions League, and Chelsea's recent collapse means his very future is uncertain

Pep Guardiola - Another title-winning season with Barcelona has established Guardiola as one of Barca's all-time great managers, but this wasn't primarily his year

Louis Van Gaal - Added another feather to his already bird-like cap with a League and Cup double, but lost his Champions League final duel with Mourinho

Performance of the Year - Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid

It was never going to be anything else, was it?

With the match hyped as a meeting between the two best teams in world football, and with the subplots of Jose Mourinho's first Clasico and the ongoing duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the title of world's greatest footballer, the scene was well and truly set for an epic contest.

What was eventually broadcast to millions around the world was everything the neutrals hoped for: an absorbing, historic, beautiful advert for the beautiful game. It just wasn't competitive.

Barcelona destroyed their closest rivals with suffocating pressure, lethally incisive passing and movement, and clinical finishing. In doing so, the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and co. proved that, together, they are not simply the best team on the planet - they are among the greatest teams ever assembled.

Honorary mentions:

Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal - More of a solo show from Messi as he ripped through the Gunners defence with four goals

Germany 4-1 England - Not likely to be a popular choice among England fans, but this dynamic and devastating performance provided the first clue as to the true potential of this youthful German side

Germany 4-0 Argentina - Possibly the best performance of the World Cup. Germany stepped it up to defeat a more talented team than England by a similarly emphatic scoreline, after a clinical counter-attacking display

Spain 1-0 Germany - No game offered greater vindication of Spain's footballing philosophy, as Vicente Del Bosque's side prevented an impressive Germany from counter-attacking by never allowing them the ball

Now that the major awards are out of the way, here are some others who I believe deserve recognition for their exploits in the last year:

Goalkeeper of the Year

Julio Cesar - The Brazilian stopper was a formidable last line in Inter Milan's nigh-on impregnable defence last season, and continued to impress in Dunga's pragmatic Brazil side in South Africa. The best keeper in the world right now.

Defender of the Year

Carles Puyol - The Barcelona captain has been used to inspiring his team-mates at club level with his assured and uncompromising displays, but this was the year that Puyol made a decisive difference for his country. Marshalling a defence which conceded just two goals, the fuzzy-haired centre-back responded to his side's struggles to break down a solid Germany backline in the semi-final with the most emphatic header you are ever likely to see. A truly great defender.

Comeback of the Year

Arjen Robben - The flying Dutchman overcame rejection from the Bernebeu and persistent injury problems to put together the best season of his career. Unlucky to find himself on the losing side in both the Champions League and World Cup finals, but just being there is testament to his achievement.

Goal of the Year

Matty Burrows - There are never any shortage of top-quality contenders for any goal of the year awards, but the Northern Irishman's astonishing flying spinning back-heel thingy into the top-corner which gave his side a last-gasp victory over Portadown stands out as an example of pure instinctive inspiration. He will NEVER do that again.

Fail of the Year

Fahad Khalfan - The name might be unfamiliar to you, but if you've caught Sky Sports News at any point in the last three months, you probably know what I'm talking about. Khalfan's amazing open goal miss for Qatar in an Asian Games clash with Uzbekistan (which his team went on to lose) was, needless to say, not the high point of his country's footballing year. It never had any serious rivals for this award, except maybe the Uzbekistani keeper's incompehensible decision to dummy the ball which kicks off the video. If you haven't seen it yet, the link is here.

History beckons for Barca

The sky is the limit for this Barcelona side after last night's Madrid mauling

Greatness is a quality which is far too readily attributed these days, but last night's astonishing dismantling of  Real Madrid proves that Pep Guardiola's Barcelona are more than worthy.

Prior to Monday's match, there was speculation in many quarters - this blog included - that a Real Madrid which boasted the world's best tactician in Jose Mourinho and an in-form Cristiano Ronaldo might represent the biggest challenge to Barcelona's desire for domestic and European domination. 

As a result, it was thought, this particular El Clasico could be one of the most evenly-matched in recent memory.

How wrong we were. 

Instead of a contest for the ages, the 98,000 fans who packed out the Nou Camp witnessed a euphoric exhibition of the beautiful game as Pep Guardiola's men embarrassed their bitterest rivals and staked their claim to be considered one of the greatest club sides in history.

It is admittedly risky to bestow such lofty praise on any team on the basis of one performance - even one as majestic as this. But let's be clear: this assessment is not based on Monday night's showing alone. 

Barcelona have dominated European football for the last two years with this team, winning two La Liga titles and a Champions League. Were it not for Mourinho's 'beautiful defeat' with Inter last season, the Catalans would have been heavy favourites to defend their European title against Bayern Munich in the final.

Moreover, Pep Guardiola's side have done it all with a flair and style which has thrilled the neutral and established them as the entertainers of world football. But amid all of their victories and stunning play, it is the quality of this particular vanquished opposition which makes this performance so indicative of greatness.

Mourinho's Real came into El Clasico having swept all before them both domestically and in Europe. 

Unbeaten in all competitions, they led Barcelona by a point in La Liga and had breezed through to the knockout stages of the Champions League as group winners, with Cristiano Ronaldo enjoying the sort of form which re-ignited the 'Ronaldo or Messi?' debate.

But it was obvious from the first whistle that this expensively-assembled Madrid side had not faced anything like the blistering speed, unerring accuracy and creative movement which characterised Barca's play.

The collective genius of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi ensured that the majority of the game was played deep in the Real half, whilst the home side's suffocating high pressure made it impossible for the much-vaunted quartet of Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil and Benzema to have any impact.

In the second half, the visitors were reduced to chasing shadows. Mourinho, for all his tactical acumen, could do nothing to turn the tide, and Ronaldo, looking to upstage Messi in their own personal duel, could only watch on helplessly as the diminutive Argentine settled matters in his own inimitable way.

Ronaldo dejected as Messi confirms status as world's best player

Of course, the youthful nature of this Madrid side must be taken into account, coupled with the fact that Monday's clash comes very early in Mourinho's reign. 

But prior to the match, Real were rightly considered - along with Barcelona - the form team of world football, and it was eleven world-class names who were embarrassed at the Nou Camp.

Having so comprehensively dismantled their main rivals, it seems that the only team which can prevent Barcelona continuing their domination of the European game is Barcelona. 

The level of quality which Messi and co. have reached means that they are no longer simply playing for trophies - they are playing for a place in history.

We thought they were good. They're better than we thought.

The biggest match in the world - Part 1

When Barcelona and Real Madrid meet, it's always special. Two of the European game's historic giants, Barca and Real have dominated Spanish football for well over half a century. 

In Spain, the rivalry has social and political foundations as well, set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, Franco's dictatorship, and their opposing status as symbols of Catalan and Spanish identity.

To the wider international footballing community, the enduring appeal of El Clasico comes down to the footballing pedigree of Barcelona and Real Madrid and, in particular, their continuing association with the world's best footballers.

Most of the all-time greats have, at some point, taken part in this fixture: Di Stefano, Cruyff, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo and Ronaldinho to name just a few. El Clasico's status as the fiercest rivalry in world football is open to debate, but it is without doubt the most glamorous.

And this year it's even bigger.

Thanks to the triumph of Spain's exceptional side in South Africa, there is likely to be at least ten world champions on the field at the Nou Camp this evening. Oh, and Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

These two superstars are the greatest players of their generation: exceptionally gifted; able to change games almost on a whim; similar, and yet different, in so many ways. 

Messi is the scampering little wizard, shy and unassuming off the pitch, and yet able to ruthlessly dismantle even the best defences on it. Ronaldo is the prancing matador, blessed with extraordinary technical and physical qualities and an ego to match.

Both have been more than outshining the wealth of world-class names who take the field with them each week; they have been re-defining the boundaries of modern football with the sheer consistency of their excellence.

Messi has 70 goals in his last 71 games; Ronaldo, hampered by injury, has 52 goals from 54 games over the same period. Each motivated by the desire to win global acclaim, these two greats appear to be driving each other on to legendary status.

Tonight's titanic clash will see these two face off at the peak of their powers, and both will have a point to prove. Ronaldo hasn't scored against Barcelona in five attempts, and Messi has never scored or got an assist in seven games against a Jose Mourinho team.

Which brings us on to the other reason why this El Clasico is one of the most anticipated in history: Jose Mourinho. 

The 47-year-old has come a long way in the 14 years since joining Barcelona as Bobby Robson's assistant. Winning two European Cups and six league titles in three different countries, 'the Special One' has established himself as the greatest tactical coach in world football.

Mourinho has also been the curse of Barcelona several times, but never more so than in last year's Champions League semi-final with Inter Milan. The 'beautiful defeat' which he masterminded at the Nou Camp was the defining moment of the Italian giants' march to the trophy, and Mourinho will never be forgiven in Catalonia for depriving Barca of the chance to become Kings of Europe at the Bernebeu.

Mourinho's exceptional track record, combined with the fact that he revels in his reputation as Barcelona's bogeyman, made the brash Portuguese the automatic choice to oversee the second Galactico era at Real Madrid.

The fact that Mourinho is now in charge of Real is crucial to the credibility of El Clasico. 

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona are the most talented team in the world, and have beaten their Madrid rivals home and away in the last two seasons. Now they face the most talented coach in the world, and he has more than enough weapons at his disposal to end their dominance.

But just how good are Mourinho's Real? They lead La Liga by a point from Barcelona, having scored 33 goals and conceded just three, and have breezed through their Champions League group. 

However, their stiffest tests to date have been an aged Milan side and domestic also-rans Atletico Madrid and Espanyol. El Clasico will be the first real indicator of how close Madrid are to becoming a true Mourinho side.

One thing is for sure: this is more than just a game. Last season, Barcelona won La Liga by a point from Real, having won both of their head-to-head encounters. If Ronaldo and co. had but drawn one of those games, they would have been champions.

It's the importance, the uncertainty and, above all, the sheer quality which makes this fixture the event it is. 

So just sit back and enjoy the show.

Rafa's baptism of fire

Earlier this week, Jose Mourinho claimed that his old foe and successor as Inter Milan manager Rafael Benitez had inherited an 'easy job' at the San Siro. The 50 year old Spaniard has since made it clear that he doesn't agree with this assessment, but if he did privately harbour any complacency regarding the task at hand, then Friday's European Super Cup defeat to an impressive Atletico Madrid will serve as a timely reminder of the challenges which lie ahead for him and his team.

Benitez's Inter were a pale shadow of the side which ruthlessly dispatched all comers in Europe last year. They lacked a creative spark in attack, intensity in midfield and - perhaps most surprising of all to those who witnessed the Nerazzurri's triumph last season - organisation at the back. These deficiencies grew more apparent as the game wore on and the Italian giants appeared to tire, culminating in the alarming ease with which Sergio Aguero tapped in the decisive second goal with seven minutes remaining. If the former Liverpool manager was looking to let his team's performance provide a defiant riposte to the jibes of the Special One, he must surely have been disappointed with the message sent by his players.

After the match, Benitez himself cited a lack of preparation time with his World Cup players as the main reason behind the lethargic performance, admitting that more disappointment may be in store for Inter fans whilst the team gets up to speed. That the likes of Sneijder, Lucio and Maicon were not at their imperious best in Monaco should come as no surprise - the lack of a pre-season for players who featured prominently at the World Cup has posed a problem for all of the major European clubs. It is also natural that a club of the stature of Inter, with so many individuals having negotiated a busy summer, should suffer more than Atletico. But if fans of the Italian giants are looking for reasons to remain positive about their side's hopes of making a good start to the season, they need look no further than Premier League champions Chelsea. Having looked decidedly off the pace in the Community Shield at Wembley, the Blues have since gone on to win their first three league matches, scoring fourteen goals without reply in the process. Inter are more than capable of achieving the same feat.

Despite Friday's setback, Benitez's immediate prospects for success at the San Siro remain very good. The Spaniard may face the unenviable task of being the first manager in the history of European football to have to immediately follow a treble-winning manager, but he has also inherited a treble-winning side. Inter have lost none of the key players who helped establish their supremacy at home and abroad last season, and with promising youngsters such as Davide Santon and Coutinho developing nicely, there is even an argument to be made that the Nerazzurri boast a stronger playing squad now than they did 12 months ago. Moreover, the new manager is not likely to face a struggle to impose his own tactical philosophy on the team, since it was in playing Benitez's favoured pragmatic 4-2-3-1 formation under Jose Mourinho that Inter enjoyed their greatest successes last year.

There are further reasons for optimism off the field. The sale of Mario Balotelli to Manchester City was as much the removal of a problem as it was the loss of a promising young talent, and although the latest edition of the Swiss Ramble (see page bottom for link) has it on good authority that Nerazzurri owner Massimo Moratti will not delve into his own pockets to provide a war-chest for his new manager, it is likely that the millions received from Eastlands will be available should Benitez require it. The Spaniard also has the privilege of managing the dominant force in what must be considered the least competitive of all Europe's major leagues. Inter have won Serie A in each of the last 5 seasons, and there has been nothing in the way of significant transfer activity this summer that suggests a changing of the guard is imminent. If Inter's domestic supremacy remains without serious challenge, then Benitez will find himself free to concentrate his resources on the Champions League - a stage upon which he has already proved himself an extremely able operator.

But superior ability and opportunity breeds expectation. Whilst only the foolishly misguided among the Nerazzurri faithful would dare to expect a repeat of last season's exceptional treble, there is no doubt that no one associated with the Milan club would tolerate any less than a sixth consecutive Serie A title. Last season's triumph in Madrid may have sated Inter's previously all-consuming desire to reclaim Europe's premier club trophy for the first time since 1965, but the Italian giants have come to take their domestic dominance for granted. If Benitez is to make his own mark at the San Siro, he must rediscover the consistency which was the foundation of his success at Valencia; the same consistency which deserted him at Anfield.

Major trophies are not won in the first few months of a season, but Benitez will know that they are not won at all with the kind of lifeless display exhibited by his side in Monaco on Friday. Atletico's triumph is a warning that much work remains to be done if Jose Mourinho's successor is to perpetuate the myth of Inter Milan as an 'easy job', and to continue the Italian giants' proud recent tradition of success.

Can Mourinho make Madrid the Real deal?

The latest chapter in what may, in time, become the most illustrious and decorated managerial career in football history has begun. Rejecting the extravagance and fanfare which has greeted other recent high-profile arrivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, Jose Mourinho instead chose to mark his inauguration as Real Madrid boss on Monday 31st May with a characteristic press conference. There was, however, a shift in the rhetoric, with a confident rather than arrogant Mourinho extolling the virtues and stature of his new club rather than his own abilities, and making it clear that he relishes the challenge both of ending Barcelona's domestic dominance and of re-establishing the Spanish giants on the European stage. But in taking on what has become the poisoned chalice of European football, has the Special One bitten off more than he can chew?

The internal problems which have blighted Madrid in recent seasons have been well documented. Firstly, whilst the transfer policy at most major European clubs is developed through dialogue between the manager, the sporting director and the owner/president, at Real the former has often been reduced to nothing more than a head coach, employed simply to work with the players he is given. Manuel Pellegrini recently complained that he had 'no voice' at Madrid, that players like Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were sold against his wishes, and that he had minimal input into the arrival of new recruits. Consequently, Real managers have invariably found themselves unable to build a team which reflects their own footballing philosophy.

The nature of the transfer policy pursued by Real Madrid, and in particular by current president Florentino Perez, has also proved counter-productive. Whilst the construction magnate's penchant for world-class attacking players has helped bring the like's of Zidane, Figo, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu during his three terms in charge, the defensive side of the team has been neglected. With Perez's refusal to pay top-end wages for defensive players, the only world-class name to arrive in this area is full-back Sergio Ramos, and one senses that it was the young Spaniard's considerable attacking qualities which persuaded the Real president to make an exception to his rule. The ultimate consequence of the 'Galactico' policy is that each Madrid manager inherits an unbalanced, top-heavy side, and it has been defensive naivety which has cost Real in both their clashes with Barcelona and the Champions League in recent times.

With the 'Galactico' policy of Florentino Perez centering around a core of world-renowned superstars on the pitch, the appointment of an equally high-profile manager was not considered a priority. The almost inevitable result of this is what I like to call 'Steve McClaren Syndrome' - a good manager, inexperienced at the top level, being placed in charge of a squad full of internationals with big egos and reputations. The result: the manager is unable to maintain control over the dressing room and to get the players to adhere to his tactical instructions, yielding inconsistent results on the pitch, and particularly ineffective performances against top opposition. The ability of Real managers to keep their star players in check has been further undermined in the past by Perez' reported insistence that his 'Galactico' signings play whenever fit, regardless of form. This breeds complacency among the star players in the squad, who view their starting place as secure, and resentment among the squad players, who find themselves unable to break into the side even if they impress in training.

In spite of their internal problems, the biggest impediment to the success of Madrid in recent seasons has been the rise of Barcelona. The Catalan giants have reaped the benefits of the now legendary La Masia youth academy, combining the home-grown talents of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pique, Puyol and Victor Valdes with top class internationals such as Dani Alves, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and now David Villa to form the best team of this era. They are a team of superstars with a brilliant collective understanding who play the most entertaining football in the world. In other words, they are exactly what Real Madrid have always traditionally aspired to be. The sheer quality of Barcelona, combined with the insistence of Real fans that their team both wins and entertains, has meant a rapid turnaround of Madrid managers over the past few years. In fact, the last one to survive more than one season was Spain's current World Cup winner Vicente Del Bosque, who left the hot-seat way back in 2004.

There are, however, in spite of all the problems listed above, many reasons to be confident that Mourinho can be a success at the Bernabeu. For starters, the very fact that the brash Portuguese has been appointed hints at a change of policy by the Madrid hierarchy. For unlike some of his predecessors, Mourinho's CV speaks for itself: a two time Champions League winner, domestic League champion in three different countries and, just as importantly for Real fans, the slayer of Barcelona as Inter Milan manager in last season's Champions League semi-final, en route to making the Italian giants treble winners. Since 2002, he has won at least one trophy every season. In summary, Mourinho is a star in his own right, with a reputation which is at least the equal of the players he is inheriting. Consequently he will have no need to win the respect of the illustrious individuals in the Madrid dressing room, and should have no problems in getting them to embrace his tactical approach.

Mourinho is also an uncompromising individual, notoriously intolerant of boardroom interference in team affairs. He will not be told who to pick or what tactical system to employ, and he always plays an active role in identifying transfer targets. Therefore, his appointment is a clear manifestation of Perez' realization that, if the ultimate goal of besting Barcelona and returning to the pinnacle of European football is to be achieved, then principles must be sacrificed. The first such principle to be cast aside was the policy of signing one 'Galactico' per summer. Mourinho invariably does not sign 'Galacticos'. He targets good players who possess the right mindset and suit the tactical needs of his team. 'I am not interested in big names; I think we need three or four defensive players', he said when questioned at the press conference. Perez himself cleverly glossed over his own concession of the 'Galactico' program by stating 'this year's galactico is Mourinho'. The Portuguese has also succeeded in persuading his new president to keep striker Gonzalo Higuain, a player who looked for all the world to be on his way out of the Bernebeu last season as a result of a reported spat with Cristiano Ronaldo, despite an impressive tally of 29 goals in all competitions.

Further proof of the change in policy can be found in a brief look at the signings which Madrid have made since the Special One took charge. Angel Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Sami Khedira are not yet marquee names, but the former two will provide the option of width in attack which was so lacking for Madrid last term, whilst World Cup revelation Khedira will provide energy, dynamism and bite in the midfield. Aside from a couple of defensive additions, there is little further need for a change of personnel in the Los Blancos squad, as no one can deny the embarrassment of riches available to them in attack. Consequently, Mourinho's biggest impact at the Bernabeu is likely to take the form of his tactical organisation of the players at his disposal.

As his Inter side's almost faultless performances in the Champions League knockout stage last year proved beyond doubt, Mourinho is currently the most astute tactician in world football. A combination of exhaustive research into every aspect of his opposition, and the first-class physical and mental preparation of his own players, means that Mourinho's teams invariably approach the biggest games of their season in peak physical condition and with a clear and effective gameplan. Real Madrid have long possessed a team of extremely talented individuals, capable of winning matches against top level opposition. If this ability can be allied with Mourinho's trademark organisation, then Los Blancos will be extremely difficult for anyone, Barcelona included, to beat.

The biggest problem facing Mourinho in the long term may well be the Real Madrid fans. For them, winning alone is not enough: they expect their team to entertain as well. Fabio Capello's ill-fated second stint in charge of Los Blancos is a case in point. In spite of winning the La Liga title in the 2006/2007 season and, in doing so, ending a spell of four seasons without a trophy, the Madrid faithful never took to the Italian's pragmatic style and insistence that results take precedence over performances, and he was sacked. As one who has been subject to similar criticisms during his career, Mourinho must take care to avoid risking the ire of Real fans by placing too much emphasis on a winning mentality, and to the detriment of putting on a show. The noises around the Bernabeu at the moment, however, suggest that knocking Barcelona off their perch is the overriding priority. Manuel Pellegrini's Madrid scored over 100 goals last season and finished with a club record of 96 points, but second place is second place, and so even these impressive numbers couldn't save him. The Real fans want trophies, not just because of their own failure, but also because of the success of their arch-rivals, and so if the Special One can carry over his reputation as Barcelona's bogeyman into his new job, they will surely be happy.

Jose Mourinho's arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu is a clear indication that Real Madrid will stop at nothing to unseat their arch-rivals as the dominant force in European football. Barcelona beware: Los Blancos are coming, and this time 'the translator' is pulling the strings.