ON the basis that football is all about the
survival of the fittest at this stage of the season, there should
probably be only one winner in Moscow. Avram Grant’s Chelsea, on
the 37th anniversary of the day the club beat Real Madrid in the
final of the European Cup- Winners’ Cup.
While Manchester United are struggling to hit the notes
that came so easily not all that long ago, Chelsea are approaching
the top of a well-orchestrated crescendo. Had they not eased off in
the second half against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday
night, they would have finished the job in 90 minutes.
As it was, they still had the power to come again in
extra-time. At the end of a vibrant, thrilling match, two players
stood out as they celebrated the Blues’ first appearance in a
Champions League final.
Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack.
These are two huge physical specimens, two supreme
athletes who looked quite capable of playing a second additional 30
minutes. Which is hardly surprising, seeing Drogba has started just
26 games for Chelsea this season and Ballack, who only made his
first appearance on December 19, a mere 22. And here we could have
the whole key to the outcome of events at the Luzhniki Stadium.
The sheer scale of Chelsea’s squad means players can
be, and have been, rested. Both Claude Makelele, a man with an
immense Champions League pedigree, and his understudy John Obi
Mikel have played a total of 27 matches each.
In comparison, United have been forced to send out the
same key performers time and again. Six United players have already
made more than 40 starts — Rio Ferdinand (48), Wes Brown and
Patrice Evra (45), Cristiano Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic (43) and
Edwin Van der Sar (41). The only member of the 40 club at Stamford
Bridge is Joe Cole (43).
Interestingly, he is the one Chelsea player who appears
to have hit the wall. The others, though, look as if they are just
coming to the boil. Michael Essien may have started 36 games in a
variety of positions — and four more for Ghana at the African
Nations Cup — but seems able to run for ever.
Yes, Essien, Drogba, Mikel and Salomon Kalou were all
involved in extra games in Africa. But set against this are the
SEVEN internationals that have to be added to the
Ferdinand and Ronaldo tallies. The total physicality and strength
of this Chelsea team, in midfield in particular, is in stark
contrast to their United counterparts.
The middle four Alex Ferguson fielded against Barcelona
at Old Trafford — Nani, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Park
Ji-Sung — are almost lightweight in comparison. Which is why the
muscular, highly-competitive and fleet-footed Anderson, United’s
best player in the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last Saturday,
could still have a role to play.
Owen Hargreaves, with his low centre of gravity and
tenacity, is also ideally built to withstand the moving wall that
is the Chelsea steamroller. Yet at the centre of the entire debate
is Wayne Rooney. Forced, unwisely, to play through the pain barrier
against Barcelona and Chelsea, it is essential he is given as much
time as possible to recover from his hip injury.
To send him out against West Ham and Wigan, even with
the title at stake, is simply not worth the risk. When Rooney is at
his best, so are United. He is, even more than Ronaldo, the Eric
Cantona-style trigger that fires the whole team. Like Paul
Gascoigne and, before him, Charlie George, he has the sixth sense,
the peripheral vision to know where a team-mate is — none more so
than Ronaldo.
He also not only has the full-tilt running ability on
the ball to worry John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho but the strength
to give as much, if not more, than he takes.
In front of goal, United hold the upper hand. Ronaldo
(41), Rooney (20) and Carlos Tevez (18) are able to conjure goals
out of the most unlikely situations. Against this, Chelsea can
offer Drogba (21), Frank Lampard (20) and Kalou (15).
Not quite the same heavy artillery, though United,
with just six in the last six games, have been scratching around
recently.
The general consensus is United would probably have
preferred to have met Liverpool in Moscow, as they know how to beat
them.
Chelsea ahead by seven wins to
four
For reasons of security and sanity, football will
breathe a sigh of relief this fixture did not come to pass.
But Chelsea are a different psychological proposition,
as recent stats show.
The clubs have played 16 times since the start of the
2002-2003 season, with Chelsea ahead by seven wins to four. The
West London club know exactly what to do to overpower and throttle
United’s greater creativity. How to stop them playing.
Which does not make for a great game of football, as we
saw at Wembley in last year’s FA Cup final.
Then again, these things do not always pan out the way
you imagine.
We expected the best from United v Barcelona and were
disappointed. We expected the worst from Chelsea v Liverpool and
got an absolute belter.
Should United, as anticipated, win the Championship,
they will be on a stupendous high and have 10 days in which to
prepare themselves for a tilt at their second Champions League —
Premier League double.
But there is something about the Chelsea Mean Machine
assembled by the millions of owner Roman Abramovich. Something
about the enormous vigour, poise and confidence of men like Drogba
and Ballack.
An irresistible force that says Blue, not Red, will be
the colour on May 21.
